


The Ice Warriors and Mrs. Pond

by MemoryDragon



Series: Mrs. Pond and the Doctor [3]
Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Amy dislikes being captured, And being the plucky sidekick, Angst, Author hates Ice Warrior names, But he is BAMF, Crack, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Original Character(s) (aliens), The Brigadier is not best pleased, The Doctor kidnaps the Brigadier, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-19
Updated: 2012-07-10
Packaged: 2017-11-18 06:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MemoryDragon/pseuds/MemoryDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy is so through with being captured.  It's the Doctor's turn this time, and the Brigadier is going to have to keep up if he's going to help her clear their names!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who, nor do I make any claim to.  
>  **Warnings:** Amy's wrath at being captured yet again. Nothing else too major this time though, unless you count awkward cliffhangers.  
>  **Notes:** And here we are, the third part of Amy-verse. It took me so frickin' long to write, and it's finally over. Well, not quite. It's pretty long, so I've decided to post it in chapters. Sadly, it wasn't written as a chapter fic. It just got a heck of a lot longer than it was supposed to be. Basically, forgive the awkward cliffhangers, because they weren't actually meant to be cliffhangers. Trust me, you got off easy. These would be so much worse if I intended them that way, cause I enjoy writing them. XD  
>  There will be four chapters in all, and I should update once a week. Provided I remember, which I don't always. However, I'm sure Cy will help me remember this time. XD  
>  **Thanks:** Many thanks to narwhale_callin for betaing and putting up with my whining over how long it took to write. 
> 
> **Originally Posted:** Jun. 19th, 2012

Amy lay with her back on the floor, her feet up in the air as she stared at the bright red platform boots. Resisting the urge to glare at the door, she clicked her heels together over her head three times. "There's no place like home," she said sarcastically, not too put out when it didn't work. 

She had learned that yelling did her no good, though Amy still occasionally threw an insult toward the locked door. She was really getting tired of being locked up. In fact, she had signed herself up for those escapology classes that the Doctor kept going on about her predecessor benefiting from. Fat lot of good they did her against a numeric keypad though. If only her ruby platform boots would do the trick, but sadly, she wasn't in Oz anymore. Just some building that was over run with Yeti and bloody numeric keypads.

It wouldn't be so bad if she was only captured every once in a while, but lately it was every single alien attack. Was it the red hair? Was it _really_ the red hair? She'd show them what being ginger meant if they didn't let her out soon! 

The window on the door slid down and Amy immediately looked up. "Are you alright in there, Miss?" Sergeant Benton asked as she scrambled to her feet, thoughts of Toto set aside. 

"It's about time!" Amy said, going up to the door. She was almost ready to kiss him through the small window. "Do you know how boring it is in here? Where have you and the Doctor been?"

"Blowing things up, Miss," Benton said with a boyish grin that all guys got when explosives were involved. It was oddly endearing, and Amy ignored the pang as she thought of how frightened Rory had been when Mels got her hands on some fireworks for Bonfire Night. For all his fussing and fretting, Amy had known to wait for the small smile on his face when the fireworks went off without a hitch. Thankfully, Benton interrupted her thoughts before she could get emotional. "And we'd best be out of here before the Doctor sets the last one," he said, drawing back from the door.

After a gun shot, the door creaked open on its own. This is why she wanted the Brigadier to let her have a gun of her own. Not that it wouldn't have been taken away from her when she was captured, but it was the principle of the thing. The Doctor would throw a fit if he'd known that she was being trained in gun safety and how to shoot, much less the fact that she was now licensed to carry arms, but he never had to find that out, right? But the Brigadier wouldn't let her, despite all his insistence that she learn to defend herself if she was going to be the Doctor's assistant. Fat lot of good it did when she kept getting captured despite the training! 

Benton, being the gentleman he was, held the door for her. "There you are, Miss. They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I'm fine," she said, grinning impishly. Her good humor had returned once she was no longer a prisoner. "But next time you leave me out on all the fun, there will be hell to pay. How come I'm always the one who gets kidnapped?"

"We'd best be on our way," Benton said, ignoring her complaints except for a commiserating pat on her head. She scowled at him, but took his offered hand as they ran through the corridors. There was the occasional shake as another explosion went off, but the Sergeant helped her stay on her feet. 

Finally, they ran out into the sunny summer day that Amy had seen from the barred windows. The Doctor waved them over from a distance, and they made their way over to him as quickly as they could. 

"You're the last ones out," the Doctor said as Amy leaned over to catch her breath. Her side was aching, but she straightened up as she saw the Doctor reaching for a small silver box. 

Oh, no, he wasn't. "Doctor, don't you-" she shouted.

He pressed the button and both Benton and Amy ducked to the ground as an explosion assaulted their eardrums. The heat rushed over them. "That was _not_ a safe distance away!" Amy yelled as soon as the ringing in her ears faded and her equilibrium returned. 

"No harm done," the Doctor said with a grin. "It was safe enough, I assure you."

Amy was just about ready to smack him when Benton intervened. "Do you think the Great Intelligence was destroyed this time, Doctor?"

"I sincerely hope so, Sergeant," the Doctor said, turning smartly and walking to where Bessie was parked on the side of the road. 

She turned back to face the slowly dying heat, shading her face from the slight burn. "Do you think we should put out the fire?"

"UNIT will see to that," Benton said, his good mood fading when he realized that meant _he_ would likely be overseeing that effort. "The Brigadier isn't going to like this..."

Looking up at the smoldering building that had once been a government-funded laboratory for computer sciences, Amy winced. No, the Brigadier would most likely not be pleased they had just reduced it to rubble, Great Intelligence and Yeti-infesting problems or not. Before Amy could articulate a reply to that though, the Doctor testily asked whether or not she was coming. "Good luck with that," she told Benton, not envying him for having to handle the Brigadier's temper. 

Climbing into Bessie, the Doctor smiled at her in a smug way that reminded her so much of her Doctor. He didn't even acknowledge the trouble he had caused, and she was beginning to wonder if he would have destroyed the building even if it hadn't been the only way. But while her Doctor frantically pushed forward to forget the bad memories, this one was simply rebellious. In many ways, this Doctor reminded her of a teenager sometimes, which gave her an unnerving feeling given how much older he _looked_ compared to her Doctor. 

"Why don't we go for a drive?" the Doctor asked, patting Bessie fondly as if he hadn't just blown up an important building. 

And you know what? He had the right idea. Amy wasn't relishing the return to UNIT and the lecture she'd have to sit in on. Avoidance sounded great. "Works for me!"

The drive back was cheerful enough that they stopped for ice cream. Upon driving up to UNIT HQ, however, a dark cloud of doom settled over them, killing their chatter. The Doctor was in trouble, which meant Amy would have to put up with the fall out, and neither of them wanted to really go in. 

There was still one more option left to them in hopes of avoiding the Brigadier's wrath - the TARDIS. If they could take off before the Brigadier realized they were back, then they could reappear sometime later after his temper had cooled. Preferably in the middle of something that he needed the Doctor for, so that they could put the whole thing behind them. By unspoken consent, they both slipped through security and made for the Doctor's lab. 

They nearly succeeded. The Brigadier walked into the TARDIS just as Amy reached the door control. 

"Doctor," the Brigadier said as he stormed in. "That laboratory-"

"Ah, Brigadier. Just the man I was looking for," the Doctor said, motioning for Amy to shut the door. She did so, glancing curiously at the two of them as she tried to figure out the Doctor's game. She knew for a fact the Brigadier had been the _last_ person the Doctor wanted to see. 

The Doctor was playing with the controls for the coordinates in ways that baffled both Amy and the Brigadier. Neither were impressed, though. Amy had seen the Doctor do it too many times and the Brigadier knew the Time Lord was just showing off. He didn't allow the Doctor to distract him in his tirade either. "I don't know what you're playing at, Doctor, but that was an expensive laboratory you just destroyed."

"And if I hadn't, the Yeti would have overrun London in a matter of hours," the Doctor said as reasonably as she had ever heard him speak, moving around the console. Oh, he was up to something, definitely.

Amy watched him carefully, his hands moving towards the controls that set the TARDIS in flight. "Doctor, you're not going to-"

He was. She felt the shift as the time rotor moved gracefully up and down. Amy felt the thrill run through her body that she always felt when they were off somewhere new. Then she remembered the Brigadier was still here and still very angry. This wasn't going to end well.

"What is this infernal machine of yours doing now?" the Brigadier asked, finally distracted as he walked forward. He glanced critically over the lively console. 

"Could you press the flashing button, Brigadier? Yes, that one. Just keep holding it down," the Doctor said as he moved to the other side of the console, muttering to himself.

Amy flicked a few random switches when the Doctor wasn't looking, unable to keep her own hands off the sleek design. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the Brigadier standing at the console, holding down the button with a growing frown. "Doctor-" he started.

"Explain it to him, will you, Amy?" the Doctor asked, staring intently at the readout.

"Me?" Amy asked, hardly believing her ears. He was trying to look busy so _she_ had to explain things. "Oh, no. You got in trouble, you explain it. I'm not having any part of this."

The Doctor looked up to glare at her, but she wasn't playing that game, no sir. He was going to have to face the Brigadier himself. 

Speaking of the Brigadier, he had had enough. "Would someone care to explain what the devil is going on here?" he said, his voice rising. 

The time rotor stopped moving, and Amy made a point of looking at the scanners as she prodded the Doctor into answering. "Well, go out and look for yourself," he said defensively, opening the doors. 

The Brigadier raised an eyebrow, which Amy mimicked when he wasn't looking her way. Sadly, her eyebrow wasn't nearly as effective since the Doctor barely glanced her way. One day, she would figure out how to use the Brigadier's super power to her advantage. 

For now though, the Doctor ignored her and walked the Brigadier to the door. "My dear fellow, it's quite simple really," he said. "The TARDIS is a machine that travels through time and space. It was only doing what it was designed to."

The Brigadier's angry reply was muffled as they stepped outside. Amy looked at her watch, counting the seconds before they came back inside. With those two, it would probably take a good minute of arguing before they realized the weather.

"-have to be so cold outside," the Brigadier said as he burst back in at a minute and three seconds. Amy mourned not having Benton or Yates around, because she would have won the bet for how long they stayed outside. 

"Just because it's summer in the time we left doesn't mean - Ah, Amy. Would you get the winter attire out of the wardrobe?"

"I was just about to do so when I saw the temperature on the scanner," she said extra sweetly. 

Frowning at her innocent smile, the Doctor glanced down at the scanners sheepishly. "Yes, well, if you would, please."

She listened as the argument between the Doctor and the Brigadier became heated again, their raised voices following her down the corridor. She turned to the right and walked a few seconds before she remembered the wardrobe was on the _left_ in this TARDIS. She pulled out the Doctor's opera cloak and a coat for the Brigadier, before looking around for clothes for herself. Amy changed out of her bell-bottoms and peasant blouse for something more modern. She kept the boots, because she loved those even if they didn't magically take her home, but she found a red mahogany sweater with folds of fabric by the neck and a pair of sleek trousers. A scarf and a super cute dark grey coat finished off the look, and she made sure to pick up enough gloves for everyone. 

The Doctor and the Brigadier were still in the midst of their argument. She stood outside the door for a moment, listening to the Brigadier demand to be taken home. _Home_. Nothing made her feel quite like the outsider she was than hearing that. She didn't miss Leadworth - that wasn't home to her. Home was where her friends and family were. She wanted her Doctor - her best friend - and the man she married. Hell, even seeing Mels would be nice, after all this time. She was sick of being in the past and missing everyone who wasn't even born yet. There was a huge difference between visiting and being stuck here.

It took her a few moments to realize the room had gone quiet. Her eyes flew open to see what had happened, only to find that the Doctor and the Brigadier were staring at the doorway. At _her_. 

Amy quickly wiped the moisture out of her eyes. "Are you alright, Mrs. Pond?" the Brigadier asked as she passed him the coat and gloves, his voice kind and just a little uncomfortable. 

"I'm okay," she said, meeting his gaze head on.

The Brigadier looked over to the Doctor, and she had the distinct impression they were talking about her, despite the fact not a word was spoken. After she handed the Doctor his cloak, Amy put her hands on her hips. "I'm still here, ya know," she said sharply.

The Doctor coughed and looked away, while the Brigadier sighed. Then, as if they hadn't just been excluding her from the conversation, non-verbal though it was, the Brigadier asked the Doctor, "Just what planet have we landed on, Doctor?"

"I'm not sure," the Doctor said thoughtfully as he looked at the TARDIS' data banks. Then, with a small glare to answer the Brigadier's eyebrow, "Well, I don't know everything, after all. It's very far from Earth, I can tell that much."

They weren't going to tell her. And, hold on, weren't they supposed to be arguing? For once, Amy just let it drop. She didn't want to know their reasons, not when she suspected they had to do with her, and she certainly didn't want their pity. As long as she stopped thinking about her home and how much she missed it, she didn't care at the moment. 

Pulling on her gloves, she made sure the coat she wore was securely wrapped around her as she walked out of the TARDIS. Considering that neither the Doctor nor the Brigadier had mentioned any natives when they had come in earlier, Amy was quite surprised to find a group of armed... What were they, lizards? Not like the Silurians, but definitely lizard-like. Their armor was weird-looking, almost like it was part of them. She couldn't tell where the helmet stopped and their heads began. Their eyes weren't visible at all, merely two flat panels which were so dark that Amy didn't know how they could see out of them. The rest of their body was covered in some sort of green bubble armor that was like nothing she had ever seen. Even their hands weren't real; they looked like some sort of robot hand out of _The Jetsons_.

It was when she was contemplating their hands that she realized they were all pointing dangerous-looking objects at her. Oh, no. Not this time. She was _not_ getting captured again. "Doctor!" she called out as she turned to run back into the TARDIS. She ran straight into him as he was coming out.

"Good heavens, Amy, what... Ah, hello there," he said to the lizardy-armor people. "I'm terribly sorry. We didn't mean to intrude if this is private property. We'll just be on our way and not trouble you further."

"You are the one known as the Doctor?" one of the creatures asked, hissing the words out longer than required, especially the 'S's. She could hear it breathing in a stalker-ish way. She pushed away thoughts of what Rory would think of them, probably making some sort of _Star Wars_ joke.

The Brigadier stepped out from behind them, his hand going to his gun. The Doctor caught his eye and shook his head, almost imperceptibly. "I am the Doctor," he said, bowing politely to the creatures. "I assume you've heard of me."

There was a sibilant whisper through the group of lizards that sounded more like a snake hissing than talking to Amy. Then the weapons were lowered and she relaxed, though the Brigadier still looked tense. "I apologisse if any offensse wass taken," the one who had spoken before said. "We have been told to look for the blue box, honorable one." 

Honorable one? Amy put her hands on her hips and looked at the Doctor expectantly, attempting to use her eyebrows like the Brigadier to ask about this 'blue box' nonsense. But the Doctor just carried on with the air of assurance she associated with him not having the faintest idea of what was going on. "It's quite all right, old chap. It's good to see a well trained security force, isn't it, Brigadier?"

The Brigadier wasn't fooled any more than Amy was, but other than raising an eyebrow, he went along with it. It didn't help that the Doctor actually _nodded_ to whatever silent question the Brigadier had asked. That wasn't fair. "Indeed, Doctor," the Brigadier said. "But I don't suppose you'd mind telling us what exactly is going on?"

"The legendss are true then," the leader said, almost reverently. "The Doctor would return for the unveiling of the relic, with a warrior and a fiery female to honor the ancient wayss." 

"A fiery what?" Amy asked. If this was some reference to her hair, she was not amused. And if this was going to continue, she had no problem with putting the Doctor on the spot. "Doctor, are you going to explain what's going on?"

The Doctor looked honestly baffled, rubbing his cheek absently. "Quite. Why don't we... ah..."

"If you will come thiss way, honorable one, we will ssee that you and your companionss are comfortable until the ceremony," the head lizard said, gesturing for them to follow. The Doctor walked forward confidently, leaving Amy and the Brigadier no choice but to follow. The armor-lizards still had some very fancy-looking weapons after all, and Amy didn't want to antagonize them if they were friendly. She'd been captured enough recently, thanks.

They were led through the snow silently, the only sound being the crunching beneath their feet. It was a beautiful planet, Amy thought. There were trees of a kind she had never seen before with big, blue leaves and silver bark that nearly took her breath away. Against the crisp snow, there were white flowers with red centers that dotted the landscape like little drops of blood. Amy almost forgot she was cold, looking out at the flowers and the beauty of the planet. 

It wasn't long before Amy saw buildings made of marble on either side of them, with a sinuous architecture of the like Amy had never seen before. They must have landed the TARDIS on the outside of the city, but there was no one other than the soldiers about. No, not a city. An outpost or something? The guards greeted the head soldier with respect from inside a glass enclosure, so at least things were looking up as far as getting captured went. 

Finally, they were ushered into a building with heating, though it was still chillier than Amy liked room temperature to be. Too cold to take off her jacket, anyway. It was a shock after the emptiness of the world outside to find so many of the lizard aliens inside, and there was a sudden stuffiness that Amy didn't think came from simply having too many people in one place. She stayed close to the Doctor, but even then she was nearly pushed aside twice by big armored aliens on their way to a (thankfully empty) meeting room. They were asked to wait there for someone who sounded important.

Amy had only been paying half-attention. The moment the door was closed and they were alone, she pounced. "What's all this about, a relic? And why is everyone crowded inside? How did they know who we are, anyway?"

"Those are very good questions, Amy," the Doctor said, passing his fingers over his chin absently. "I wish I knew the answers." 

"You don't know?" Amy asked, starting to feel the pit of dread in her stomach growing. 

"Well, I think the reason everyone is inside is because the atmosphere isn't quite right for them outside. Don't worry, it's not harmful to humans in here, just a little stuffy. But as for this relic business, I'm afraid not." At least the Doctor had the decency to look sheepish at her glare. 

The Brigadier wasn't too pleased at the revelation either. "And why don't you know, Doctor?" he asked, his eyes darting around the room as he considered the defensibility of their surroundings. Guiltily, Amy did the same as she remembered the training she'd gone through. She was supposed to be proving to the Brigadier that she could handle 'trotting after the Doctor into Heaven knows what mess,' after all. 

"My dear Brigadier, I'm a time traveler," the Doctor said as Amy took in the room. She tuned out the conversation since she was familiar enough with River to know the hazards of meeting someone out of order. She sat down in one of the very comfy benches. At least, she assumed it was a bench. It had a cushion and no back, but there were no tables in the room either. So either it was a cushy table and everyone sat on the floor, or a bench, and Amy decided she'd much rather sit on a table than sit on the floor next to a bench. 

There were five other 'benches' that formed a vague circle, but that was the only furniture in the room. There were a few of those delicate white flowers painted along the wall though. The contrasting red and white of the petals was stunningly beautiful. Looking around the room more, Amy was surprised to find that the simplistic pattern was more than a little breath-taking. Not at all what she expected on a military base. 

"Just what are these creatures, Doctor?" the Brigadier asked, apparently resigned to the side effects of time travel enough to branch out on his questions. Amy returned her attention to the conversation, wiggling in her seat to get comfortable. 

"They're called Ice Warriors, Brigadier," the Doctor explained, walking over to the wall to study the detailing on the flowers. "They're a warrior race. Or were, at certain points in their history. They became a much more peaceful lot after joining the Federation. They're originally from Mars, you know."

"I thought there wasn't any life on Mars?" Amy asked. Even after traveling with the Doctor, there were a few things that were too far-fetched for her to believe right off the bat. "I mean, they've sent up the Mars Rover and didn't find any traces of-" Oops. She glanced over at the Brigadier, who was regarding her with raised eyebrows. She should really remember she's still in the past. "I probably shouldn't have mentioned that."

"No, you shouldn't've," the Doctor said with mild reproof, but he seemed more amused than anything. "And you should keep in mind the Brookings Report. You humans are fond of keeping secrets." The latter was aimed at the Brigadier, but Amy couldn't tell if he was teasing or not. She'd never heard of this 'Brookings Report,' but she could guess that it was meant to keep aliens secret. "The Ice Warriors hid their civilization well before they left Mars because it had become uninhabitable. They took most of their technology with them, leaving behind a desolate planet."

"So there really are Martians?" she asked. Unlike bow ties, that was legitimately cool.

"Yes," the Doctor said, taking one of the benches across from her. "They're a very honorable race, when they're not foolishly trying to take over the Earth."

_That_ got the Brigadier's attention. "They wouldn't happen to be interested in such occupations now, Doctor?" he asked, thankfully still not thinking in terms of past and present. 

"I highly doubt it, Brigadier," the Doctor replied. "Earth is much too far from here, after all. I'd estimate we were several star systems removed from Earth's solar system. No, their conquering days are long behind them, if the last time I met them is anything to go by. I was highly suspicious of them myself at first, but one of them saved my life and helped me save Peladon."

The Brigadier didn't look entirely convinced, but at least he wasn't reaching for his gun anymore. Amy was about to ask about their armors being a part of them when the door opened with a beautiful chime. She and the Doctor stood, and she found her question was semi-answered. A new Ice Warrior walked in, wearing a much different armor. He was smaller and sleeker, compared to the other warriors they had seen, and his chest-plate was decorated around the edges with a minimalist flower design. So they must be able to get out of the armor! Either that, or there were two different kinds of Ice Warriors? No, those kinds of thoughts would just make her head spin, so she was going to assume they could take it off. Any attempt to see what they look like without the armor would cause an appropriate amount of mischief, but given that they weren't in trouble for once, Amy should probably behave herself. 

Did spiffier armor come with higher rank? Again, her question was answered as the Ice Warrior spoke, his voice surprisingly clear of the breathy quality the other Ice Warriors had. Maybe that was because of the bulkier armors. "I am Commander Nyrytzl. I am in charge of running this base and protecting the relic. You do us great honor by returning for the unveiling."

"It is my privilege to return," the Doctor said, returning the small bow Nyrytzl gave him. "As you know, I'm the Doctor. These are my companions, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart and Mrs. Amy Pond."

The Brigadier bowed as well when he caught the Doctor's eye and Amy followed suit, trying not to think about how the Doctor was introducing her. She'd never quite corrected anyone that she was really Mrs. Williams. It was a much more boring last name after all, but mostly, she didn't feel like Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Williams would have Rory with her, not be waiting for him and the Doctor to show up for five months. She forced herself to focus on the cultural differences, what with all the bowing and talk of 'honor.' Did they have Asian aliens? Because that was what they sounded like. She'd have to remember to ask the Doctor later.

"Ah, the warrior and the fiery woman. It is indeed how the legends describe," Nyrytzl said, sounding pleased. 

The Brigadier cleared his throat, regarding Nyrytzl cautiously. "I'd appreciate being informed of what this 'unveiling' business is about."

The Ice Warrior looked towards the Doctor expectantly, who scratched the back of his neck nervously. "We were in a bit of a hurry from our last destination. I'm afraid I didn't have much time to explain what happened during my last visit to my companions."

Amy rolled her eyes at the obvious lie, but Nyrytzl bought it. How the Doctor got away with this so often, she didn't know. Just _once_ she'd like to see someone catch him in a lie, so long as her neck wasn't on the line as well.

"Then please allow me to explain," Nyrytzl said. After a nod from the Doctor, he continued. The Doctor was so cheating... "Five hundred years ago, the honorable Doctor and his companion visited this place when it was under attack by a Sontaran fleet. He helped us defeat the invaders with glory, and then gifted us with a relic from our days on the red planet." 

That sounded remarkably Doctor-ish. In fact, Amy wasn't surprised in the slightest by any of this information. It was obviously the quick version, but she could fill in the missing details and chases with enough clarity that she had to wonder when she got so used to this life. Though, if the Doctor's other companion didn't get captured and thrown in a cell as frequently as she was, Amy was going to have to have a chat with him. 

"But the relic was old and broken, only to be used in a time of need," Nyrytzl continued. "He told us to lock it away in this holy place and keep it well guarded, and in five hundred years, he would return and the relic would be renewed."

"How terribly convenient," the Brigadier said as he glanced the Doctor's way. 

"Er, yes. That's about how I remember it to have happened," the Doctor replied. Amy settled him with A Look, which wasn't as amazing as the Brigadier's eyebrows, but it still managed to make the Doctor look sheepish. She completely missed the soft chime of the door opening due to her small victory.

"So the relic is expected to be rejuvenated?" the Brigadier asked skeptically. Amy didn't blame him. While she didn't disbelieve it, that was only because she had seen the singing vases of New Greece and had just been convinced of Martians. Really weird lizard-y armored Martians that were okay in her books so long as they didn't put her in a cell. 

"That is the story," a new voice said. Amy looked over at the newcomer in surprise; when had he gotten here? He was armored like Nyrytzl, but his chest-plate was stylized differently in a way that she could have sworn made him more sinister. Maybe it was the thorns on the many petaled flowers. He moved slowly into the room, with a kind of grace that Amy associated with one of the UNIT weapon instructors. The Brigadier was tense, his eyes following the newcomer's every move. "Are these the aliens that penetrated the Chameleon Field that protects the base?"

"This is the honorable Doctor and his companions," Nyrytzl said coldly. Was it just Amy, or did the temperature drop from cold to freezing between the two aliens? She tugged her coat more tightly around her. Political infighting. Wonderful. That usually always lead to prison cells at some point, but it was the Doctor's turn to be captured this time.

"And you believe these creatures?" the second Ice Warrior hissed. "They could be using the legend to steal the relic in our time of need. Perhaps they are working for the Sontarans in a second attempt to claim this planet?"

"This is bad, isn't it?" Amy whispered to the Doctor, who nodded. She was surprised to find the Brigadier slowly putting himself in front of both her and the Doctor, though he didn't draw his gun just yet. 

Nyrytzl stood as well, his voice angry. "Sub-Commander Ixkyr, do you question your commanding officer?"

"I question the appearance of aliens a day before the unveiling of the precious relic," the second warrior, Ixkyr, said. "I do not trust aliens to not take advantage of the legends and steal the relic away."

"It certainly is a valid concern," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Though it puts us at a disadvantage. Is there anything we could do to prove ourselves to you?"

"The lock on the relic can only be opened by Commander Nyrytzl and the biodata of our honorable ally," Ixkyr said with a mocking bow to the Doctor. 

"That isn't necessary, Sub-Commander. Opening the lock before tomorrow is heresy and no one else could have found the base with the Chameleon shield in place! And you insult the honor of our guests to-"

"Look, it's no big deal, right?" Amy asked. She let out a breath as the two Ice Warriors turned to look at her, the fight diffusing. "Can the lock confirm that he's the Doctor without opening the door? Then we've got proof that we aren't Sontaran spies and everyone is happy."

There was a tense moment - it really was the hair, wasn't it? She was going to get thrown in a cell because she was a red-head, and she was going to make sure they had to blow up the base if that was the case to get her revenge - and the Doctor and Brigadier traded glances. But Nyrytzl sighed and nodded. "Very well, if Sub-Commander Ixkyr insists. I am sorry for his insolence, Honorable One."

The Brigadier gave her a small pat on the shoulder as she sank onto the bench. The Doctor waved off the apology, offering his hand to Amy as he motioned toward the door. "As Amy said, it's no problem at all. If you'll lead us to this lock of yours?"

The door chimed again as they walked through it, the soft bells reminding Amy of the time she tied green bells in her shoe laces at Christmas. She had two versions of this memory, one with just her aunt in their empty house yelling at her, the other with her father laughing at her as she danced around the tree in the living room. She'd made Rory and Mels wear them too, so they could be a matching set, and then she and Mels took theirs off to sneak up behind Rory and scare him. Except, right, she needed to be focused. Rory wasn't here, and hadn't been for the past five months.

She walked next to the Doctor as Nyrytzl lead the way, keeping her voice low so the Ice Warriors couldn't hear her. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked. "What if it was a different version of you that helped the Ice Warriors out?"

"My biodata would be the same," he assured her. "Besides, I'm sure my future self would take that into account, Amy."

Amy didn't say that at least one of the Doctor's regenerations was the type to forget details like that, if her Doctor's small explosions while he worked on the TARDIS as he forgot to connect certain wires were anything to go by. Instead, she dropped back to the Brigadier, who was at least more reasonable. "So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"The plan, Mrs. Pond?"

"Yeah, The Plan. For when the Doctor's bluff fails and everything blows up in our faces," she explained. 

The Brigadier raised a very put-upon eyebrow. He had obviously been considering the same thing. His words weren't very reassuring either. "This is a highly defended military outpost, Mrs. Pond. Let us hope it doesn't come to that."

A warning glance from the Doctor stilled any further questions she had. With a sigh, Amy focused on the beautiful artwork that covered the walls of all the hallways. Not flowers this time, but landscapes that changed with every corridor. How did these aliens hold a paintbrush anyway, with those robot hands?

Pondering the problem of paintbrushes, Amy lost track of how many twisting hallways they went down. Though there were no stairs, the floor was sloped downward and Amy got the sense of being underground. She hated that feeling. Nothing good happened to her when she was underground.

They must be getting near the heart of the complex, or at least getting _somewhere_. Amy's feet were starting to hurt with all of this walking, and she was going to be bruised all over tomorrow from accidentally bumping into aliens in hard suits of armor. Were the hallways always this crowded? How many of these reptiles were on this secret base anyway?

"You seem to have a lot of soldiers on this base, Commander," the Brigadier said, echoing Amy's thoughts. "Is the relic that important?"

"It is important because we have so many people," Nyrytzl explained. "This world has grown overcrowded, and there are no worlds suitable for colonization within range. At least, none that are uninhabited." 

"And to comply with Federation laws, you can't conquer anyone," the Doctor finished. He was rubbing at the back of his neck again as he thought, and Amy wondered if she should tell him about that little tick of his. But if she did, he'd get self-conscious and try to stop, and it was kind of adorable in its own way. Now though, there was a peculiar expression on his face as he went on. "You should have the technology to change a world's atmosphere though. I've seen your race use it before. Surely you could find an uninhabited world and make it to your liking? Even on this world, you can't stay outside without protection."

"I'm afraid we have lost that technology, Honorable One. The relic you gave us should help in that regard," Nyrytzl said as he bowed his head in what Amy assumed was shame. It would be so much easier to read these aliens' expressions if they didn't have those bloody helmets on. He entered some sort of pass code into a door and they walked through the surprisingly empty corridor. After how crowded the rest of the base had been, this was a relief. The corridors looked much older here, and if she thought the Ice Warrior's artwork on the walls had been breathtaking before, this was enough to stun her completely. Even the Brigadier and the Doctor looked around in awe.

"So the relic is one of those planet transforming things?" Amy asked, feeling like it was right out of a sci-fi movie. Then again, that pretty much summed up her life, and she reached out to touch one of the delicate paintings of the blue trees on the wall.

"That is what it is said to be," Ixkyr said, watching them warily. "So you see then why it is of greatest importance and security."

"Yes, quite," the Brigadier said. "But I don't see what-"

"The relic!" Nyrytzl shouted as he ran ahead. Amy dragged her attention from the walls and traded a worried glance with the Doctor before looking to see what had caught the Commander's attention. 

Dismay filled her when she saw the torn-out panel and the broken door. With a long-suffering sigh, Amy raised her hands in surrender as Ixkyr immediately leveled his gun at them. She hoped the cells would be warmer than the hallways.

"The strangers have broken in and stolen the relic!" Ixkyr said predictably.

~TBC~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mem: So there you have it, Awkward Cliffhanger #1. Hope you've enjoyed it so far!
> 
> Quote of the chapter: (For Benton and the Doctor's love of explode-y things)
> 
> "No boom today, boom tomorrow. There is always a boom tomorrow. What? Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here. Boom. Sooner or later, BOOM!"  
> \--Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5


	2. Chapter 2

"The strangers have broken in and stolen the relic!" Ixkyr said predictably.

"We just got here!" Amy said in exasperation. She _hated_ being captured. "And someone has been with us the whole time. When were we supposed to steal it?" 

"Mrs. Pond." The Brigadier's voice held a warning, and Amy had to resist rolling her eyes. 

"Amy does have a point, you know. We could hardly have stolen anything during the time we've been here." The Doctor glanced at Ixkyr as he spoke, but the gun remained pointed at them.

"I am sorry, Honorable One, but Ixkyr is right to doubt. I must request that you come quietly while we search for the relic," Nyrytzl said, sounding genuinely regretful. Not that the apology helped Amy's temper much.

The Doctor looked thoughtful, rubbing his chin absently in a way that gave Amy hope. That was the expression he wore when he was about to do something clever... or get themselves all in hot water. It was a fifty/fifty chance, really. 

"Well, Doctor?" the Brigadier asked, his hand covering his gun expectantly. Even with only two Ice Warriors, starting a fight in the middle of an overcrowded base was a bad idea. What could they do with just the Brigadier's gun and the Doctor's space kung-fu?

The Doctor gave a small gesture to the Brigadier to stand down, then turned to Nyrytzl and said, "My dear fellow, I'm afraid I can't trust that your investigation would be entirely unbiased."

Both of the Ice Warriors stiffened at this, though Amy couldn't tell if it was in fear or anger. "Are you implying that one of us would lie to accuse you, Doctor?" Anger then. Right. She hoped the Doctor knew what he was doing, because right now it was looking like he was leaning towards the bad fifty percent. 

The small smile she saw on the Doctor's face didn't help her worrying any either. "I wouldn't dream of it. I was only suggesting that you might not be entirely motivated to find the truth when an obvious scapegoat presents itself."

"You question the honor of-"

The Brigadier cut in with a raised eyebrow before Ixkyr could get trigger-happy. "It's not a question of honor, Commander Nyrytzl, Sub-Commander Ixkyr. I'm sure you're both most honorable. But if we are innocent, it implies that there is indeed a traitor amongst your ranks and they would work against us."

"If there is indeed a traitor among us, they will be punished greatly," Nyrytzl promised.

"And more so for you if we find that you are lying," Ixkyr added, still not lowering his gun. 

"Do we have to keep the whole guns and testosterone thing up?" Amy asked, a little frustrated with the whole proceedings. 

"Quite," the Doctor said with a touch of amusement. "I'm assuming that a tribune from the Federation wouldn't be here for at least a week or two, and we don't have that much time if the unveiling is tomorrow."

Ixkyr and Nyrytzl traded a silent communiqué. Or at least, Amy _thought_ they were. It was hard to tell anything, with those helmets, but the silence between the two aliens was full of undecipherable meaning. "What you say is true, Doctor. This is a very delicate matter. If we were to announce an investigation and that the relic was missing... The base would be thrown into a panic," Nyrytzl said finally. "I take it you have an alternative in mind?"

"Let Amy conduct her own investigation," the Doctor said, confident again now that his gambit was paying off. "You can keep me and my TARDIS under guard, and if she leaves then I'll assume full responsibility for the theft." 

Which meant she wasn't going to be locked up again! Score! Before she could cheer, the Brigadier was frowning with an expression that didn't bode well for that plan. "Doctor, if there is someone else about who stole the artifact, Mrs. Pond would be a prime target. I can't allow her to investigate on her own."

"I am right here, you know," she said, placing her hands on her hips. If he was going to go on about how she was female and therefore unable to do it on her own, she was going to sock him, military rank or no. "You don't have to talk around me. And I can take care of myself."

The Brigadier turned to her, not scornfully, but with a firm expression on his face. "I am well aware of that, Mrs. Pond. I was the one who ordered your training sessions. But on a military base, the majority of our suspects would be highly trained and there happen to be a lot more of them than there are of us. You need some sort of protection if you're going to mount an investigation."

Well, that took the feminist righteousness right out of her, though she still didn't like it, especially not when the lecture was making her feel like some sort of unruly child. She didn't _want_ to be the one locked up this time, which is what would happen if everyone was convinced she would be a target. "I don't need-"

"Which is exactly why you should be guarding her, Brigadier," the Doctor interrupted. At this, the Brigadier raised his eyebrows in some question Amy couldn't decipher any more than she could the Ice Warriors' conversation. Even the Brigadier couldn't do much against a whole army, after all.

The Doctor nodded to him, then turned back to Commander Nyrytzl. "Would that be an acceptable arrangement?" 

"It is acceptable, honorable one," Nyrytzl said with a bow of his head. Ixkyr hissed in fury, but lowered his gun finally. "I would impress upon Mrs. Pond and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that this mustn't get out to the rest of our people. They are counting on the relic to save them. If they were to find out that it was missing..."

"There would be widespread panic, yes. And I don't imagine that would end well for any of us," the Doctor said. 

"How are we supposed to find out who did it if we can't ask people about it?" Amy asked, wondering what the hell the Doctor had gotten them into this time.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," the Doctor replied with a grin that she wanted to smack him for. 

Rolling her eyes, she spun back around to face Nyrytzl. "How much _can_ we do in this investigation?" she asked, wondering if perhaps being captured was the better option after all. 

"You will have full access to all non-essential areas of the base, Mrs. Pond," Nyrytzl replied. "And I will make it clear that everyone is to answer your questions honestly and give you any help you require. Please do not mention that the relic is missing, however."

Right. Wonderful. And what happened if the relic was hidden in a non-essential area where they couldn't search? The Doctor had to have a better plan then this. "What does the relic look like anyway?" she asked.

Nyrytzl and Ixkyr traded glances. "I'm afraid you'll have to ask the Honorable Doctor that question. None of our people have seen the relic since it was sealed away." 

Now _that_ really was just ducky. Because of course the Doctor wouldn't know what it looks like; he hadn't even given it to them yet! What she wouldn't give for River to show up and start being all Doctor's wife-ish and clever. She'd probably know about Martians or Ice Warriors, or whatever they're called and what it looked like, being an archeologist and all. "We'll just get on that then," she said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

She turned to glare at the Doctor, only to find both him and the Brigadier having a quiet conversation off to the side. She had to move closer to hear what they were saying. And when she did, Amy's eyes narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "What's this about 'Emergency Program One'?"

"Nothing you need worry about, Amy," the Doctor said with his most charming smile. Because _that_ was believable. She looked to the Brigadier who raised an eyebrow at her and shrugged as the Doctor searched his pockets. "I have a something that will help your investigation though. Just let me find it..." the Doctor said.

Now that's was more like it. Gizmo time! "Is it a tracker or something we can use to find it?" she asked hopefully.

"Ah, here it is," the Doctor said, pulling out the object.

"You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

Amy twirled the magnifying glass the Doctor had given her in her fingers, thinking very nasty thoughts about what she was going to do to him for that 'plucky side-kick who helps solve mysteries' comment. Now she knew her Doctor had been lying about meeting Agatha Christie. Even he couldn't be dumb enough to use that line on two red heads.

"Find anything, Mrs. Pond?" the Brigadier asked as he peered at the mess of wires on the lock. He prodded a wire with the same blank expression he used when the Doctor was explaining his latest alien gadget or modification to Bessie, the one that meant he had no idea what any of it was, even with the Doctor's explanation. 

"Nope," she said, wanting to throw the magnifying glass at the wall. "There's no finger prints or robo-hand prints or anything. The Doctor's the only one who would be able to make heads or tails of this mess, but he's locked up and expecting _us_ to do something!"

And Rory wasn't here. Everything, the alien planets, the cold, having to find this stupid relic, none of it compared to that betrayal. She should be enjoying seeing the galaxy, but he wasn't here. Rory was supposed to be here, to say something self-depreciating about his knowledge of electronics, complaining about how she had accidentally wiped the DVR the last time she had tried to plug something in. God, she could hear his _voice_ , but He. Wasn't. Here.

The Brigadier regarded her silently, and Amy didn't bother wiping the corners of her suspiciously damp eyes. She wanted to go home, and she didn't care what he thought of that. "So what you're saying is that you can't help the Doctor?" he asked, his face impassive. "If you feel like we are just wasting our time, you are more than welcome to return to the TARDIS or the Doctor's cell."

That did it. That condescending tone she'd been getting from half the population since she'd been lost in this time, that chauvinistic attitude that she needed to be protected that, that idea that just because she was a woman and couldn't handle an investigation…! Rory would have been backing away from her slowly in that moment. "Of course I can do this! I'm his best friend and I've been through a lot more dangerous things than this! I don't need to be protected in the TARDIS!"

"I never implied you did," the Brigadier said, one eyebrow raised at the perfect angle to make Amy feel foolish about her outburst. He was... he was hiding a smile, damn it. He'd done that deliberately to rile her up. "Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I still think it was that Ixkyr guy, what with all his glaring. He's probably just trying to be suspicious of us to throw the blame. No one else thinks it could have been the Doctor!"

"Unfortunately, Mrs. Pond, that speculation is useless to us until we find proof, and Sub-Commander Ixkyr disappeared before we could follow him." The Brigadier looked back over the wires suspiciously, and Amy felt a little guilty. He was just as frustrated as she was. She shouldn't have taken out her abandonment issues on him. "Why don't we see if there were any security cameras?" he suggested, once it was clear there was nothing more they could do here.

They spent the next few hours going over the security footage (and finding nothing), combing what they could of the very large base (and finding more nothing!), looking for any suspicious goings on (even more nothing!), and asking anyone they could about details of the relic (which was somethings, but not useful somethings). There was depressingly little about the relic. The soldiers' impressions ranged from an object that would make the planet bigger to one that would magically solve all their problems. They had no more idea what this relic was than Amy and the Brigadier did.

At least there were some sort of sweet yellow pastries in the cafeteria, which partially mollified Amy. It was a bit like a soft chocolate biscuit, with some sort of raw sugar sprinkled on top. One of the better alien sweets she had tasted, though not comparable to the chocolates that the Master had left her. Too bad eating them wasn't helping the investigation any.

"Excuse me," she said to one of the warriors after she had eaten three of the biscuits. "You wouldn't happen to have a library in this base, would you?"

"There iss one on the wesst sside of the building, fiery one," the warrior said, bowing politely. Amy was more than a little grateful that their status of honored guests hadn't been officially revoked, but fiery one? Really? They needed to work on their epithets. 

"Thanks," she said with a bright smile as the warrior bowed again and went off to do whatever it was they had interrupted. 

"A library?" the Brigadier asked.

"We're not doing any good here. Maybe we can find something about the relic or the Doctor's last visit that will give us a clue," she explained. Because she was really running out of ideas by this point, since they still hadn't found Ixkyr. Everyone they asked didn't know where the Sub-Commander was, which made him even more suspicious in her book.

The Brigadier merely nodded though, so apparently the idea was sound enough. Using the electronic tablet the Ice Warriors had given them, Amy brought up the map of the base to lead them to the library. It took a good fifteen minutes of pushing through lots of reptiles in bulky armor and twice asking for directions before they found it. 

Amy was surprised to find it completely deserted, what with the overcrowding and all. The silence was almost unnerving after being constantly jostled by people. "Not much of a library," she said, taking in the small room. There were a few bookshelves and a table with a couple cushy benches by a window, but that was it. Even the small table wasn't impressive, hidden away so it wasn't seen at first glance. None of the books even had titles on the spines, and they were all sleek and thin. With all the art around, she had expected something bigger. 

"Maybe it's just a records room?" she asked as she stepped closer to one of the shelves. She reached out for a book and bit back a small noise of surprise.

"Are you alright, Mrs. Pond?" the Brigadier asked, abandoning his own shelf to come to her assistance. 

Amy nodded, showing him the 'book.' "It's like an e-reader."

"An e-what?"

Oh, right. The Internet hasn't even been invented yet. "They're like this tablet they gave us. You can download books to it and read it without carrying around a lot of books."

"And everyone uses them in the future?" the Brigadier asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Not everyone. Some people still like real books," she answered, thinking of the Doctor's harsh words against them. "Rory always-"

Her hand tightened around the tablet as she cut herself off. Rory had always liked real books too, because he couldn't break the screen by dropping it if it were paper. If he were here, she would tease him about being careful and...

"Why don't you show me how to work these infernal contraptions?" the Brigadier suggested. The kindness in his voice made her look up at him, and he patted her gently on the shoulder.

She was being silly. Rory had waited millennia for her, and she'd only been waiting five months. Except shouldn't the Doctor know where she was, given that she was with his past regeneration? So why hadn't they come yet? Shaking those thoughts away, Amy turned the tablet over until she found an on switch. She was half afraid that all the text would be in some alien language, and it was for a few moments. Then it started to fade into English, which was _weird_. Probably something the TARDIS did, or maybe the tablet was smart like that? She wasn't going to complain, as it made their lives easier.

"You press this button to turn it on and it switches to English if you wait a few moments," she explained, settling in to attempt to teach the Brigadier to use the tablet. It took twice as long to explain it to him than she expected, and she had to explain things to him at least twice before the Brigadier understood. No wonder the Doctor was always half annoyed around him. Though Amy herself found the Brigadier's fluster with technology rather charming, and it took her a moment to realize why. One half of her memories said that she did the same thing often enough with her dad. The tiny little dad she hadn't even had until her wedding day, and it was still a little disconcerting to think about the dual memories.

Still, soon they were both reading through the databanks with relative ease, sitting by the window as comfortably as possible without a back to the benches. Amy put her back to the wall and propped her feet on the bench, while the Brigadier continued to sit straight. His loss. The Brigadier managed to produce a pen and a pad of paper for notes, but she used the tablet's equivalent of a word processor. The bell chimed a few times as Ice Warriors came in and out, but no one really noticed them in their corner.

She at least got to read about what the Doctor did 500 years ago.

"Apparently this place used to be a sanctuary for female Ice Warriors," Amy said as she scanned the document. She tried to think if she'd seen any women on the base, or if she had, could she tell them apart? That was a little disturbing. She wondered if she and the Brigadier would look just as indistinguishable to them as they were to her. Maybe the Brigadier would know. "Are there any women on the base or do both sexes look the same? Everyone we've met has had these deep voices."

The Brigadier looked up from his reader. "Perhaps the Ice Warriors only allow men in the military?"

"It doesn't sound like they're chauvinistic pigs from these texts. It sounds like they respect women highly." And yeah, now that she thought about it, she'd been over-reacting a bit lately with the whole feminist thing. Women's Lib was all well and good so long as she didn't use it as an excuse to lash out at people who generally would agree with her. Amy sighed and rubbed her temples, refusing to feel guilty for things they probably deserved.

Shrugging, the Brigadier scrolled through the next mention of the Doctor. "I'm hardly an expert on these aliens, Mrs. Pond. But it doesn't seem like a feminine sanctuary any longer."

She rolled her eyes, going back to her own texts. She should have known better. "It says here that the sanctuary was moved after the relic was received. But the Doctor's friend got to see it all, when the Doctor was locked up for having a y-chromosome." And why couldn't they ever visit a land like that, so that the Doctor would be the one captured while she lived like a queen? So not fair. And did the Time Lords even have those kinds of chromosomes? She didn't think their biology was that wildly different, but she also wouldn't put it past him. "Then the Sontarans attacked and defiling men were everywhere. Huh. I suppose I don't blame them for moving it then."

"What does it say about the relic?" the Brigadier asked.

"Just that it was a gift from the Doctor to appease the head priestess's wrath. There's that same bit about it saving their world in a time of need and rejuvenating itself, but nothing more." Amy tapped the screen impatiently, hating having to sort through all the references to "Doctor" and "relic." It was worse than a search engine, these readers, coming up with so much useless information. A regular library would have been easier to sort through. "Any luck on your end?"

"I'm afraid all I can find are these blasted medical files." He sounded as frustrated as she felt. "This would be much easier if we could conduct an actual investigation instead of tiptoeing around the subject."

That was an understatement, but if she started now, she'd end up going into a full rant on the subject, so Amy stayed quiet. They kept searching, since searching the grounds would take weeks or months that they didn't have. After fifty minutes more of finding absolutely nothing though, they were both ready to call it quits. She was just about to throw her reader down in frustration when the door chime went off. "-ssure the sstrangerss ssusspect nothing?" a voice said.

The Brigadier immediately pushed her behind one of the few bookshelves, grabbing their readers as he followed. Amy, in the meantime, was desperately searching through her purse as quietly as possible. This was the first break they had, and she couldn't waste it. 

"Why should they?" a familiar voice said. "I've done nothing but believe them, just like the rest of the superstitious idiots. I've even assisted them in their little 'investigation.' If anything, they suspect that paranoid fool Ixkyr."

Amy froze for a moment in shock, then looked up at the Brigadier. Nyrytzl? The Brigadier frowned, but if he was surprised he didn't show it. Amy couldn't help but feel just a little jealous at how well he did that.

Then she remembered why she was searching through her purse. 

"They won't find the artifact. I have hidden it on the outsside," the new voice said just as Amy's fingers closed around the object of her frantic search. She smiled at the Brigadier's raised eyebrow as she pulled it out triumphantly: her mobile.

The Brigadier's eyebrow turned from curious to impressed (really, how did his super-powered eyebrows convey that? It was awesome) as she mouthed the word 'recorder.' That got his approval as she pulled up the video recorder and pressed start. 

"Has Alxtass looked at the relic yet?" Nyrytzl asked as Amy very carefully pushed the lens on her mobile around the corner of the shelves as unobtrusively as possible. There! She could see both of the Ice Warriors on the screen now, both Nyrytzl and the new one, who had the armor of the regular soldiers.

"He ssayss it iss sstill broken," the second Ice Warrior replied. 

"Then the Doctor lied about its regenerative properties all those years ago," Nyrytzl hissed, fury in his voice. "It is useless to me broken! Can he fix it?"

"He doessn't know, but he iss trying. Sstill, as long as we have the artifact, we can sstill have the promotion."

"Yes, Kytxr, this is a fact. We can say it was damaged in the fight." Amy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at Nyrytzl's pensive words. She had a bad feeling about this...

"The fight, Commander?"

"It will be quite tragic," Nyrytal said, though his voice held more amusement than sorrow. "The aliens turned out to be impostor spies who were after the relic after all, and we were unable to take them alive. It will be a great battle, with many honors to be awarded, especially if you can make Ixkyr's death appear to be the fault of the strangers. Is that clear, Kytxr?"

"Very clear, Commander," Kytxr said with a bow, sounding extremely pleased. Amy felt her fists curl in anger, but she bit her tongue and stayed quiet. Just because she wanted to scream at them for being cowards and sleazebags, didn't mean it was a good idea. Kytxr continued talking, so Amy refocused on that. "Iss there anything elsse you wissh to disscuss, Ssir?"

"That should be all. Go ahead and sound the alarm to capture the prisoners, but don't kill them yet. Make sure the bonds on the warrior are loose enough for him to break free. That should show those superstitious fools that aliens aren't to be trusted. If we prove the aliens were trying to invade us, we might not need the relic after all. Retribution has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?"

"Yess, Commander." There was a short pause - Amy saw from her mobile that the bulkier Ice Warrior was bowing again, then the door chimed as it slid open. 

"Yes, this is a most fortuitous opportunity," Nyrytzl said to the empty library as he followed his underling out.

Amy cut the recording, pressing the button harder than she needed to. That jerk! "He was acting all nice to us while planning to kill us the whole time!"

"Indeed," the Brigadier said, lowering his gun. She hadn't even realized he had drawn it. "And it doesn't appear we have much time either."

"Yeah," Amy replied, holding up her mobile and pressing play. The earlier conversation started back up, showing the room as Amy had fumbled for a good spot to place the camera before focusing on Nyrytzl and Kytxr. "Do you think this would convince Ixkyr? It sounds like he's in just as much danger as we are."

"If we could find him," the Brigadier said dryly. Amy felt her spirits fall. They hadn't been able to find him in all this time, so how were they supposed to find them in the time it would take for Kytxr to put out the alarm? "I think we should take this to the Doctor. He might be able to find a way to broadcast it."

Amy nodded, then looked down at the map. "You realize that the Doctor's cell is on the other side of the base, right?"

The Brigadier's mouth was set grimly as he put the two readers away. "Then we'd best start moving before the alarm starts."

Which inevitably meant running. Some things with the Doctor never changed, but at least this bit she could enjoy. 

Tucking her mobile safely away in her pocket, Amy followed the Brigadier out, taking off as fast as they could. Unfortunately, running was a lot more difficult given how crowded the base was. "Excuse me, sorry. Coming through," Amy repeated in what felt like an infinite loop. It couldn't have been this crowded on the way to the library!

It was so crowded Amy didn't even notice the claw-like hand settling on her arm until it pulled her to a stop. 

~TBC~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memory: So, this ending is slightly less awkward, at least. Slightly. Oh, my wasted cliff hangers. I could have made you spectacular, but was far too desperate to be done with this fic to rewrite. Ah, well.
> 
> And since the Brig didn't get to shoot anything in this chapter, have a quote of him mourning how often shooting things doesn't work.
> 
> "You know, just once I'd like to meet an alien menace that wasn't immune to bullets."  
> -The Brigadier, _Robot_ , Doctor Who.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, let go!" she said, wheeling around to give whoever it was a piece of her mind. Hey, wait. That armor looked familiar. She was surprised to find Ixkyr was the one holding her arm, even more surprised to see the Brigadier already leveling a gun at him. 

"I suggest you release Mrs. Pond," he said, gaze never leaving the Ice Warrior.

"You have good reflexes," Ixkyr said, still not letting go of her arm. It wasn't a painful grip, just firm. He didn't let go when Amy tried to pull free. "I suggest you come with me."

The mutual suspicion in the air was so heavy that Amy felt like she was being crushed. "Oi," she said, interrupting their glaring session. "Look, we figured out who did it and we have proof. Now are we going to work together on this or are you just going to threaten us?"

The Brigadier gave her a silent warning and didn't lower the gun, but the Ice Warriors in the area were surrounding them. Really, she wasn't the one making trouble here! "Do you want the proof or not?" she asked, putting her free hand on her hip.

Finally, Ixkyr let go of her. The Brigadier lowered his gun and re-holstered it after a pointed look from Amy. "We need to go somewhere we can talk," the Ice Warrior said, waving to the others to go back to their duties. Ixkyr led them to another meeting room furnished much the same way as the first had been - comfy benches without tables and beautiful patterns along the wall. Seriously, what did the Ice Warriors have against chairs with backs? 

Amy took one of the middle benches, letting the boys sort themselves out around her as she pulled out her mobile. "Okay, look. We don't have a lot of time-"

"I am aware of the situation," Ixkyr said, surprising both of them as he held up a small crystal. "I have been monitoring your progress."

"You've been _spying_ on us?" Amy asked furiously.

"I did not trust you. However, it appears I was suspicious of the wrong people." He gave a small bow of apology, and yeah, alright. She could see his point. Still - spying! Just because they had been planning to do it to him didn't mean she had to like it. 

"Then you believe us now?" she asked.

"No," he said, frustrating Amy further. "You are still not all that you appear to be. I hard the two of you speaking."

"If we were to explain the situation, would you believe us?" the Brigadier asked thoughtfully.

"I would consider it," Ixkyr said. 

"Then we can explain as we go get the Doctor," Amy said, tugging on the Brigadier's arm towards the door. "They're going to send the alarm out any second now!"

"Then you would find this passage more convenient than the corridors." Ixkyr walked over to the wall and touched the red center of one of the white flowers. A door opened with a quiet swish on the wall where Amy hadn't even seen evidence of a door.

The Brigadier raised his eyebrows, but Amy was too busy celebrating to herself. A secret passage! Now those were exciting. Useful too. Why couldn't they find those more often? "Only the officers know of these routes," Ixkyr explained just as the alarm went off.

"Intruder alert! The alienss are impostorss! Capture them alive at all costss. Intruder alert. I repeat-"

"If you would follow me?" Ixkyr asked, glancing up at the intercom on the wall. 

Amy nodded, stepping into the narrow corridor. The Brigadier followed after her, gun drawn, and Ixkyr sealed the door behind them. The alarm thankfully cut short once it was closed. 

If Ice Warriors' helmets could look expectant, Ixkyr's appeared to be that way right now. Oh, yeah. Explaining. "Okay, so you know how we arrived in the blue box, right?" Amy said, letting Ixkyr squeeze by to lead the way. It was slightly awkward, what with his armor and all. She didn't want to imagine it with the bulkier armor of the regular warriors. No wonder these passageways weren't widely known. "Well, it's a space ship and time machine, all in one," she finished before she could get too sidetracked thinking about the armor.

"A time machine?" Ixkyr asked skeptically, turning to the Brigadier for confirmation.

"When it's working," the Brigadier replied. "I never quite believed it myself, but it appears there was some stock to his claims after all." 

_Well, thanks for believing him and not me_ , Amy thought as Ixkyr seemed to take the Brigadier's word. "Apparently, him coming here and giving you that relic hasn't happened for him yet," she continued to explain. "Hazard of time travel." 

"So you are saying that what happened in the past for us is the future for you?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up," Amy said. "Explains why he was able to predict what would happen when he 'came back' to see the relic again with that prophesy. He had already done it."

Ixkyr was silent for a few moments as he led them through the halls. He paused at a door, nearly causing Amy to run into him. "The Doctor is in this room," Ixkyr said.

"Great! Then let's get him out!" Amy said. Except Ixkyr was blocking the door and not moving aside. "Aren't we?"

Again, Ixkyr fell silent. Sure the story was a bit far-fetched, but it was the truth! They weren't the ones who had been proven as trying to kill him! 

"We are running out of time, Sub-Commander," the Brigadier said, putting on his best military tone. "Whether or not you believe our circumstances, we have been proven innocent of the theft and your commanding officers guilty. Surely that is enough to let us clear our names and arrest the real culprit."

He was doing the eyebrow thing again, and it was apparently just as effective against aliens who never took off their helmets as it was with humans. Was it some sort of warrior thing, that Ixkyr wouldn't take her word, but he'd believe the Brigadier? Or did they have some sort of prejudice against red hair? Really she was tired of being ignored. "Can we get moving?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

They were all surprised when the door clicked open on its own to reveal the Doctor and his sonic screwdriver. "You're all making quite a ruckus in here," he said, peering into the corridor. "Good heavens. If I had known this existed, I wouldn't have stayed cooped up in this room."

"Doctor!" Amy felt something loosen in her chest as she pushed past Ixkyr and hugged him. The worry she had been trying not to think about since the announcement dissolved neatly.

He returned the tight hug before patting her on the head, like the grandfather in one half of her memories. "Hello, Amy. It's good to see you're alright. I was worried after I heard the announcement," he said, with a special fondness he reserved only for her in this regeneration. She always liked that feeling. The combination of motor oil and lavender that never left this regeneration of the Doctor was also soothing.

"Sub-Commander, Brigadier," he said as she pulled away, nodding to each of them. "Would someone mind explaining what this impostor nonsense is about?"

Amy moved aside to let the Doctor into the small corridor, speaking quietly as she wondered how thin the walls were. "It's rubbish. Nyrytzl's set us up so he can get a promotion. He wants Ixkyr dead too!"

"Not very cordial of him," the Doctor said, closing the trick door behind him. 

"Apparently, the relic is still broken as well," the Brigadier added.

"That makes things more difficult. And I take it we have no proof?" the Doctor asked dryly.

Amy held up her mobile smugly. "Camera phone. If you can plug it in, we can broadcast the whole conversation where Nyrytzl confesses."

"I suppose even mobiles come in handy on occasion," the Doctor said in a huff.

The Brigadier looked patiently clueless as the talk of technology went over his head, pressing on when he thought they were done. "Can you do it, Doctor?" he asked. 

"Can I do it? Of all the preposterous questions... My dear fellow, of course I can hack into their systems. It will be quite simple really, once we get to the control center." The Doctor tried placing his hands on his hips like Amy had earlier, but forgot how crowded it was. He ended up knocking his elbow against Ixkyr's armor and rubbed the sore spot with a wince. "Sorry, old chap. But the relic is more of a concern right now. You said it was broken?"

"According to what Commander Nyrytzl said, he couldn't find any scientists that could fix it," Ixkyr said solemnly. "And if the others were to find out it was still broken, there would be widespread panic. We have relied on this relic for too long, Doctor."

The Doctor hummed, looking thoughtful. "Yes, I'd rather avoid that as well. I did pick up something that might be useful when I stopped your people from taking over the Earth. It was a sort of... er, I suppose a seed would be the closest word. I couldn't leave it on Earth where some fool might accidentally set it off. It should still be somewhere on the TARDIS."

"So we just substitute the new one for the broken one?" Amy asked, wondering if it could really be that easy.

"Yes, that would do nicely, if the Sub-Commander has no objections," the Doctor said with a small grin. "We don't even have to let the others know it was fake, and then the Commander would have no panic to take advantage of."

"It is a..." Ixkyr paused, long enough for Amy to wonder if he was fidgeting under all that armor, "...convenient solution, I admit. Though it is not honorable to lie."

"When lives are at stake, honor can only serve you so far," the Brigadier said. "And many lives are lost in riots, Sub-Commander, which is what you said would happen if this information was released."

She could see Ixkyr was wavering, and Amy racked her brain for the right thing to say to convince him. They'd never be able to find their way back to the TARDIS without his help. "Faith is important, yeah?" she said finally. "And your people have believed for 500 years that the relic would save them. And it's going to, just not in the way everyone thinks. The lie won't hurt anyone, not since we're trying to help, but like the Brigadier said, the truth would cause more trouble. I think that sometimes, you've got to do something that's not a good thing, and it can be honorable, if it's for the greater good. Not that it's an excuse or anything, but..."

"You speak wisely, fiery one," Ixkyr said finally. "It is no excuse, but it is a fact that this is the only way to save lives. I will help you back to your craft, if that is the best way to serve my people."

"You are an honorable man, Sub-Commander," the Doctor said gravely, with a comforting pat on Ixkyr's back. "Lead the way."

* * *

Getting outside of the complex was easy. The secret corridors had outside exits, and patrols of the perimeter were few and far between due to the planet's atmosphere. "It's the trees, you know," the Doctor explained while they were hiding behind one of them. "They give off more oxygen than all the rainforests of Earth combined, and the Ice Warriors are more susceptible to oxygen poisoning. Humans will feel it too, if you stay out here long enough."

"No thanks," Amy replied. They both looked sheepish as the Brigadier shushed them.

As they stood a few meters away from the TARDIS, a problem arose. Three guards stood in front of the blue police box. "So how are we going to deal with them?" she asked. She didn't think feminine wiles would help, though she was tempted to suggest it just to scandalize the Doctor and the Brigadier.

"Would they have heard the alarm, do you think?" the Doctor asked Ixkyr.

"They have radios," Ixkyr replied. "And Commander Nyrytzl would have sent someone at the first alarm. He was always efficient." 

"Then could you just get them to look the other way?" Amy asked. "You're their commanding officer, right?"

Ixkyr nodded slowly. "Which would require more lying."

Okay, this whole honor thing was really starting to get on her nerves. "There are only three of them," the Brigadier said before she could go off on him. "We can take care of the guards. You need a strong position when we take on Nyrytzl, and we don't have time to explain the truth to them."

"No," the Ice Warrior said, his voice filled with sadness. "If we can send them away without hurting them, it would be better. It appears we cannot do things in halves."

"In for a penny?" the Doctor asked with kind eyes. Then he motioned for the Brigadier to move forward. She watched as her boys took positions on either side of the TARDIS and found herself a sturdy stick she could use off the forest ground. Not that a stick would be much good against armor, but it was better than nothing. 

Ixkyr backtracked enough to come down the pathway openly. "Sub-Commander Ixkyr!" the first Ice Warrior said, turning uncertainly to one of the other guards.

"There has been an emergency with the captives. Everyone is needed back at the base," Ixkyr said with a gruff tone. 

"I'm sorry, Sub-Commander, but we have received word that you are in league with the impostors," one of the other guards said, stepping forward. All three of them raised their guns. "Please surrender your weapon and come peacefully."

Amy was fairly certain that Ixkyr's helmet couldn't express emotion, but when he looked down at the snow, she could have sworn it looked sorrowful. "Then I am truly sorry for this, but we don't have time to explain the truth."

The Brigadier and the Doctor sprang from their hiding places as Ixkyr spoke. The Doctor did his space kung-fu to chop the guard's gun hand before attempting to reach for his neck. The Brigadier was much less elegant as he grappled with his guard, but no less effective. He tackled the Ice Warrior into the snow and was trying to make him drop the gun.

It left the last guard to Ixkyr, who took even less time than the Doctor to disarm him. He shot his own gun at the guard's hand and moved in to knock him out with a swift blow to the head with the gun's butt. 

Amy put down her stick and leaned against the tree. Her boys obviously had it sorted, so she had no problem with simply admiring the view. No problem at all. She caught the Doctor's exasperated expression as she whistled and winked at him after he tossed the guard over his shoulder.

The fight was over in a matter of seconds, and Amy spared a thought for the Doctor's very shapely behind as he helped the Brigadier up. Oh, how long she'd spent staring at her Doctor, before Rory had come with them. There was nothing wrong with _looking_ , after all, and when she was constantly surrounded by military men, Amy could hardly be expected not to enjoy herself. Even Rory... Well, Rory wasn't here right now, was he? If he wanted her to look at him more, he'd have to get his butt over here.

"What are we going to do with them, Doctor?" the Brigadier asked, frowning as he brushed off little bits of snow that had gotten in his hair.

"Let's bring them inside the TARDIS for now, shall we?" the Doctor replied. He turned to Ixkyr with a gentle expression. "I promise no harm will come to them, old chap. We'll let them go as soon as this confusion is cleared up."

"Thank you, Doctor," Ixkyr said with a polite bow. He sounded breathier than usual as he leaned down to check over one of the fallen guards. Amy realized with a start that he was breathing much heavier than a short fight would have warranted. Even the Brigadier looked a little winded, but he was holding up better.

"Amy, why don't you take Ixkyr inside the TARDIS whilst the Brigadier and I take care of these fellows?" the Doctor asked, noticing the same thing.

"Yeah, sure," she said, offering a hand to Ixkyr. He stood up without her help, but swayed slightly. "Hey, were you hurt?"

"It's the atmosphere, Amy," the Doctor explained. "I don't believe the Sub-Commander was able to take any protection against it on the way out, since we had to sneak through the checkpoints. Between the walk here and the fight..."

"I am... fine, Doctor. You need not... concern yourself with me," Ixkyr said, the need to breathe forcing him to pause mid-sentence.

"No, you're not," Amy said, giving him a very light push towards the TARDIS. "Come on. Pushing yourself here won't help your people."

Ixkyr wavered for a moment, but nodded finally, letting her take his arm and lead him through the doors after the Doctor fished out the key. Now that she was aware of it, it really was a bit easier to breathe once they were in the TARDIS. Amy had never thought that too much oxygen would have that much effect. 

"This place..." Ixkyr said breathlessly. Amy didn't think it was only because of the atmosphere outside.

"It's bigger on the inside," she finished for him, hiding her own amusement.

"You..." he said, a bit of wonder entering his voice. "You really are the companions of the Doctor."

"Yup, that's us." Because as unbelievable as all of this was, it was her life. And... Well, she _would_ have it another way, if she could have Rory with her, but Amy didn't regret traveling with the Doctor. She couldn't. 

That revelation hit her, and she felt just as breathless as Ixkyr. No matter how much she missed Rory, she wouldn't trade this life for the world. She just wanted Rory here to share it with her, was all. "Can I get you anything," she asked abruptly to cover the sharp pains in her chest that had nothing to do with the atmosphere. "Water, or a chair?"

"I am fine, thank you," Ixkyr said, leaning against the wall. Amy really did miss the orange chair in her Doctor's console room. A hat rack really didn't offer much support when one wanted to sit down. She led him to one of the corridors, finding a nice couch for them both to sit on.

Outside, she could hear the Doctor and the Brigadier taking care of the guards, and though it was hard to tell in the armor, Amy thought Ixkyr stiffened. "You're doing the right thing," she said. "We've got a saying, back on Earth, that the ends justify the means. And that's not always true, but I think in this case it does."

"And where does honor lie in these means?" Ixkyr asked, his voice betraying his confliction where his body was unreadable. "How does one return to the honorable way once that line is crossed?"

"You're doing the right thing," she repeated, unsure of what else to say. "There's gotta be honor in that, right? Even if we're lying and hurting people, the bad guys who are really dishonorable would get away with it if we didn't. Especially now that they've gotten everyone else pegged against us. It's all we can do, but we're going to set things right."

"Perhaps," Ixkyr said cryptically, his mental armor going back up. 

Had she said the wrong thing? She was about to try again when the Doctor came in. "Ah, there you are. The guards have been taken care of."

"Then all we need is the seed-thingy?" Amy asked, dreading how long it would take the Doctor to find it.

He tossed a small, pale ball at her, which she caught automatically. "What's this?"

"My dear Amy, that is a highly advanced bio-engineered terraformer. It is not a 'seed-thingy' as you termed it," he replied.

She looked down at the plain ball in her hands. This little ball was supposed to be able to change the atmosphere and habitat of the planet? She looked up at the Doctor, suspicious. "And you had this just lying around?"

"Er, yes?" the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's stabilized, but it would have been dangerous to leave on Earth, you know. So I took it with me. I told you that before." 

"It was on top, wasn't it?"

"I fail to catch your meaning."

"Doctor, I've sat around and waited while you looked for something," Amy said, placing one hand on her hip. "Or when you've found something new you wanted to keep. There are _piles_. It just happened to be on top, didn't it?"

"Of all the cheek," he huffed, not denying it.

Amy smirked, turning to face Ixkyr as the Doctor fumed. She held out the ball for him to take. "This will save your world," she said, as he took it gingerly. "You're not going to use it to advance yourself like Nyrytzl and claim you found it?"

"You seek to insult my honor," Ixkyr hissed, his free hand reaching for his weapon. 

"I'll take that as a no then," Amy said, smiling. "In that case, I think your honor is still intact, even with everything we're doing right now."

Ixkyr didn't quite know what to make of that, but the Doctor smiled and tweaked her nose. "Then come along, you two. The longer we leave Nyrytzl in power, the more damage he'll do."

They followed him back into the console room, Ixkyr cradling the seed against his chest as if it were a precious thing. The Brigadier was there waiting for them, turning something small and metal over in his hands. "Is this what you were looking for, Doctor?" he asked as he caught sight of them.

"Yes, that's it," the Doctor said, passing it to Ixkyr. "That should help you breathe easier for the walk back. Just place it over your mouth."

"Couldn't you just cut down a certain percentage of the trees?" Amy asked, the thought occurring to her. "If it's just too much oxygen, wouldn't that help sort things out?"

"The dragonwood trees are sacred," Ixkyr explained. "That was part of the terms when the Federation let us settle here, that we were not allowed to cut them down. They are holy trees, to be shown respect."

"It's a bit more than just the oxygen, I'd say," the Doctor added, glancing down at the scanners. "Nothing too harmful to humans, but your people can't go outside much, can they Sub-Commander?"

"No, we can't. This is why we've been searching for a new place to live."

So much for that idea. She'd thought it had been a rather good one, too. Amy pulled her coat closer around her as they set out for the trek back. 

* * *

Amy was getting really, really sick of these corridors. They were borderline claustrophobic when one person was going through them, but with four people (one of which wore armor), it gave a whole new meaning to the word cramped. She couldn't believe she was going to say this, but... 

The Brigadier beat her to it. "Are we ever going to arrive at this blasted place?"

"There are only a few more corridors left until we arrive at the sacred grounds," Ixkyr answered quietly.

"Not far now, Brigadier, unless the Ice Warriors get there first! Though I suspect they won't have guessed we have a new one." the Doctor said cheerfully, getting a glare from both the Brigadier and Ixkyr. 

Oh, right. The walls were thin. Amy spoke her question softly so as not to be on the receiving end of the glares as well. "What exactly are we going to do when we get there?"

"Replace the relic and broadcast the conversation," the Doctor said. "If we show them that the relic is still safe and exactly where it's supposed to be, then we can hopefully make Nyrytzl's plan backfire on him."

A reasonable plan. It was nice to have a plan, every once in a while. It didn't happen often, but she found this Doctor had one more frequently than hers did. She suspected this was the Brigadier's influence more than having any hope for the Doctor.

She was about to comment on that when she caught the Brigadier's eyebrow, obviously intending to shush her. The Doctor never had to be quiet! Then again, this Doctor didn't babble to fill the silence like hers did. Hers was almost afraid of the quiet, when he was left alone with his thoughts. Perhaps she was overcompensating for that lack? 

Finally, Ixkyr motioned for them to stop. He cracked open the wall and looked around, then went through. They followed him after he motioned it was clear. 

Amy breathed a sigh of relief when they got out into a proper hallway. It was blissfully empty too. She stretched as wide as she could before she even got out of the doorway, just for the joy of not being cramped. 

Looking around, Amy recognized the broken door from the relic chamber right in front of them. "Ah, there we are," the Doctor said.

"So it seems, 'Honorable' Doctor." 

Amy jumped at the voice, too surprised to realize that the Doctor had stepped in front of her, effectively cutting her off from view. Nyrytzl! What was he doing here? 

"If you would place your weapons on the ground and kick them over here, please," Nyrytzl said.

"Commander Nyrytzl, is this what you call honor?" Ixkyr asked. There was scorn in his voice, and no small bit of betrayal. Amy nearly stepped forward, to comfort him or what she didn't know, but the Doctor was there, hiding her. Realizing what he wanted, Amy stepped back into the secret passage. "Everyone spoke highly of you and said I would be privileged to serve under your command. Why choose this?" Ixkyr continued. 

"Because this is how you advance," Nyrytzl said, gesturing to the ruined door. "It is only naive fools who believe in honor when the world is this crowded. Our world is doomed to riots and disease, but I don't plan to be on it when it all falls. Your weapons, if you please."

For once, Amy was glad of the thin walls, since she could still hear the conversation, though it was a bit muffled. "Is it really doomed? One would think the world is a bit more hardy than that," she heard the Doctor say conversationally. She didn't hear any weapons sliding across the floor, so she assumed the Brigadier and Ixkyr were still armed, probably watching the Doctor for a cue. "Though it's very Machiavellian of you," the Doctor continued. "But I think you are underestimating the value of honor, Commander. It is a very noble trait that one should strive for."

"Honor is made by those who write history. In this case, I'm afraid you are the traitors, Doctor. Now your guns, please. Don't make me ask again."

Amy looked at the nearest unopened door in the wall. It _should_ come out right behind where she heard Nyrytzl speaking, if she was calculating it correctly, and Nyrytzl's voice was much louder from here. She cracked it open slightly and peeked out. Nyrytzl and another Ice Warrior stood with their backs to her. Perfect. "And before you die dishonorably, you can tell me where the red-haired female is," Nyrytzl said, causing her to freeze.

"We couldn't let anything happen to her," the Doctor replied. "She's not trained for military operations, so we left Amy in the TARDIS. If I'm not back within five hours, I've set Emergency Program One to take her home. She's out of your reach, Nyrytzl."

The best kind of lie, Amy found, was one with a bit of truth. Emergency Program One, that was what the Doctor had been talking with the Brigadier about before. While she knew for a fact the five hour thing was a lie, since she and Rory had waited longer than that for the Doctor to return before, shoving him out of the TARDIS and telling him not to come back for a full day while the two of them raided the wardrobe for some role playing. It had been just before they had made that fateful trip to Wales. But to have a program to have the TARDIS take them home if anything happened to him? That Amy could believe. It's just the sort of self-sacrificial thing that her idiot best friend would do. 

_And_ he'd been telling the Brigadier to use it to take her home if things got too hot? Oh, _no_. They were going to have _words_ when all this was over. 

She didn't wait for Nyrytzl to respond to that. Dashing out, she hit the Ice Warrior's wrist with as much force as she could muster. Nyrytzl let out a sharp cry as she wrestled the weapon down, then out of his hand.

She heard a gun go off - the Brigadier's Webley, had to be, since the alien weapons sounded completely different. She ignored it, focusing on Nyrytzl. He was a lot stronger than her, and once the shock wore off, Amy found she was in serious trouble. He knocked her against the wall, pain shooting through her back. 

Her first instinct was to close her eyes, but the Brigadier's training kept her from blocking out her surroundings. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do to block Nyrytzl's blow. His cold grip on her shoulder refused to budge no matter how much she struggled. 

Just as he was about to land a powerful blow to her unprotected stomach, the Doctor tapped him on the shoulder. "I apologize for interrupting," he said, yelling a very enthusiastic "HA!" as he struck at the Ice Warrior's neck. "But I do believe you had untoward intentions toward my assistant."

"Thanks," Amy said dryly, brushing herself off as Nyrytzl fell to the floor unconscious. She glanced over at the Brigadier and Ixkyr who were already tying up the other Ice Warrior.

"You weren't hurt?" the Doctor asked.

Hiding the wince of pain from her back, Amy smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine," she added when he gave her a look.

"That was a very brave thing you did," the Doctor said. "Come on. Let's get the relic back in place."

The Doctor's praise and then the Brigadier's nod of approval were enough for her to forget how sore her back was going to be tomorrow. Yeah, it was still a little condescending, but they weren't yelling at her for doing something dangerous. And really, that was just how this Doctor was. She kind of liked it when he played doting grandfather. 

"So what do we do with them now?" she asked, looking down at their captives. 

"Keep them here until we release the video, I suppose," the Doctor said thoughtfully as Ixkyr and the Brigadier joined them.

She looked Ixkyr over, able to tell frustratingly little from the thin line of his green lips. "You holding up okay?" she asked, remembering the hurt in his voice earlier. 

He gave a curt nod, which didn't answer her question. Or rather, it did, but not in the way she had hoped. She started to ask him again with the Brigadier caught her eyes and shook his head.

The Doctor squeezed her arm in silent reassurance, as Ixkyr assured them that he would be able to link up the video for broadcasting. The Brigadier went with him, and Amy followed the Doctor into the room that had held the old relic. 

It was a brightly lit room with one of the most beautiful paintings she had ever seen. The colors were almost blinding in their vibrancy. She nearly forgot to breathe, frozen to her spot in the doorway. It was just as powerful as watching Vincent paint and all she could think of for a moment was how much he would have loved this room. "They've kept this hidden for 500 years?" she asked, her voice feeling small and her eyes just a little damp.

"Seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?" the Doctor responded. "You wouldn't suspect a race of warriors to paint such beautiful things. Izlyr had told me of such things when I was on Peladon, but I don't know if I ever believed it. It seems I've underestimated the Ice Warriors again." 

He smiled at her for a brief moment, eyes unable to slide off the painting for long. Then he walked over and touched a deep red that was almost painful to look at - and yet Amy couldn't look away. She didn't want to. "Yes, it appears I've misunderstood a lot of things about them, over the years," the Doctor said, every bit as awed as she was. Amy slipped her hand into his, and they absorbed the painting in silence.

"We should come back here with Rory," she said finally, surprised that the words didn't sound as bitter as it would have an hour ago. 

"We'll make a trip back when he finally finds you," the Doctor promised. "Though I don't fancy a trip with any of my other regenerations. I'm sure the Brigadier could find some use for my other self, so it would be just the three of us."

Amy laughed, appreciating the moment with her best friend. She didn't know if it was the painting that was making her feel better or what, but she felt better than she had in ages. They would come back with Rory, because Rory was going to find her, no matter how long it took. And it was something she could share with this Doctor, who maybe wasn't the one she first met, but still her very best friend.

"Come on," the Doctor said, pointing to the center of the room. The pedestal that Amy had completely missed because she was so taken with the paintings was knocked over, with wires spread everywhere. It was a bleak spot against the pure beauty of the painting, and it made her want to shake Nyrytzl for destroying it. The intricate carvings on the pedestal were ruined, just so that he could get the relic for himself. "Let's clean this mess up, shall we?" the Doctor said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," Amy said, returning the smile he gave her. "We should."

* * *

Amy jumped as they walked out into a room full of Ice Warriors. Heavily armed Ice Warriors. She was about to run back into the safe haven of the relic room when the Brigadier called out to them. "Ah, Doctor. Mrs. Pond," he said, striding up to them with confidence that he wouldn't have had if the Ice Warriors were hostile. 

Then she noticed the Ice Warriors saluting him as he walked by. Well. That was a change, and a very welcome one. "We've been wondering if we would have to dig you both out of there. It's been five hours."

Five hours? Amy automatically went to check her mobile in surprise before she remembered that she had given it to Ixkyr. It hadn't felt like five hours at all when they were fixing the pedestal, though she was really hungry now that she thought about it. Time hadn't mattered as much when one was surrounded by the walls of the relic room. There had been a lot to fix, even if it didn't feel like five hours worth of work.

"It certainly looks like you've got things under control out here," the Doctor said, glancing around. "No problems with the broadcast?"

"There were a few Ice Warriors who were loyal to Nyrytzl," the Brigadier admitted. "But most of the soldiers respect Sub-Commander Ixkyr, and it was a fairly bloodless revolution. Their belief in the legends was quite strong."

The Doctor nodded, rubbing his neck thoughtfully. "While I don't normally encourage blind belief, it does appear to have worked in our favor for once."

"And how are things on your end?" the Brigadier asked.

"The relic is safe, and back in place," Amy said, wondering if they should really be talking about it in front of the other Ice Warriors. She stuck with the cover story. "It was a little rattled in the fight, but it should be repaired easily before the ceremony tomorrow. Nyrytzl didn't break it; he just didn't know how to get it to work."

There was a murmur of relieved hisses, quickly hushed by a glance from the Brigadier. The atmosphere lost the tension that had hung over the room ever since Amy and the Doctor had stepped out. 

The Brigadier's mouth quirked as he attempted to hide a smile. Even the Doctor wasn't grumpy, and thinking of bringing Rory back here kept her own spirits up. Maybe the trip was a good idea after all.

Then the alarm started ringing.

Ixkyr rushed in, the Ice Warriors immediately jumping to attention. "What's wrong?" Amy asked, plugging the ear that was nearest to that horrible ringing.

"Commander Nyrytzl has escaped his bonds," Ixkyr explained, both to them and the other Ice Warriors. "Artuss's unit, stay here and guard the relic. Everyone else join the search."

As half of the Ice Warriors filed out, Ixkyr turned to them. "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, could I ask you to guard the relic as well?"

"It would be my honor," the Brigadier replied after a quick, nonverbal, and worried conference with the Doctor.

"You worry about Nyrytzl, Sub-Commander," the Doctor said. "We'll keep the relic safe."

Ixkyr nodded curtly, following after the other Ice Warriors with a tense stride that made Amy want to follow him, but the Doctor kept a gentle hold on her arm. "He needs to show the other Ice Warriors that he can handle command," he said quietly, so that only she could hear.

Amy sighed, looking back over the remaining Ice Warriors. Guard duty, huh? At least they'd be ready for Nyrytzl if he tried to come back! 

"So," the Doctor said as he settled against the wall. He pulled out a small box from his pocket, much to the Brigadier's disapproval. "Anyone for a game of Venusian poker?"

* * *

It turns out that guard duty is just as dull as being guarded. Sergeant Benton wasn't lying when he said it was a pretty boring job. The Doctor had wandered off an hour ago to 'help' with the search, unable to sit still for any length of time when he was on the same side as the guards. Except he did it while no one was looking, so Amy hadn't been able to insist on going with him. 

Amy resolved to stop by and chat with Benton more often, if every day was this dull. Maybe even bring a round of cocoa or coffee to everyone on duty. This was _boring_. She was even starting to feel some pity for some of the guards that had stood outside her cells, but not too much.

"Mrs. Pond, why don't you see if you can find someone to bring some refreshments?" the Brigadier asked the umpteenth time she sighed. "I'm sure the Doctor could use some help with whatever he's doing as well."

Rolling her neck and trying not to look too grateful, Amy agreed. One of the Ice Warriors offered to show her the way to the kitchens, which Amy assumed was a veiled attempt to protect her on the Brigadier's part, but for once she didn't mind. After how Nyrytzl had easily over-powered her earlier, she was willing to admit that a little protection wasn't a bad idea. Besides, it gave her a chance to ask the guard about who had painted the interior of the base. 

They were halfway to the kitchens, pushing through the sea of aliens that forever crowded the halls, when she saw Ixkyr walking in from the opposite direction. "Any luck?" she asked as she gave him a small wave.

Ixkyr shook his head wearily. "We haven't been able to find the Commander, not even in the officer's passages. But we will keep looking. He won't steal the relic again."

"We'll make sure of it," Amy replied. She was gratified to see a small smile on Ixkyr's face. Had she seen him smile before? He definitely needed to do it more often! Impulsively, she grabbed his arm and started dragging him along. "Come on. I bet you haven't eaten anything either, and we're headed to the kitchens. You can have lunch with us."

"But Mrs. Pond, my duties-"

"Oi. No arguing with the red-head. I'm not called the 'fiery one' for nothing." She gave him a small push, but he wasn't resisting. "I'm sure they can do without you long enough to - Hey! Watch it, buddy!"

She spun around as someone grabbed her arm, surprised to see Nyrytzl leaning out from the hidden corridor. The same corridors they'd used earlier, now being used against them. But Ixkyr had checked them and-

Amy screamed as he shot his weapon, but it wasn't aimed at her. The guard she had been discussing the paintings with dropped to the ground.

Her elbow hit hard armor as she tried to pull away, and she gasped in pain and heard two more shots. Before Amy could try again, she found herself yanked back against Nyrytzl with the muzzle of an alien gun at her temple.

A cold chill ran down her back as she fought down fear. "Is this the best idea you could come up with?" Amy asked, putting as much exasperation in her voice as she could to cover the terror. "Taking me hostage? Couldn't you take one of the others for once? Is it the red hair? It's the red hair, isn't it? I wouldn't be this much of a target if I were a brunette."

"Lower your weapons," Nyrytzl said, ignoring her completely. Ixkyr and as many Ice Warriors that could be gathered in the corridor all had their weapons pointed their way, but were hesitating. "Lower them!" Nyrytzl hissed again.

Ixkyr motioned for the Ice Warriors to follow the order as Amy cast about for some way out of this. If only they didn't wear so much damned armor! And it was so crowded that Amy was surprised Nyrytzl even managed to get to her. But now there was a clear circle around the two of them, a barrier of three bodies surrounding them. Her foot brushed against one of them as Nyrytzl pulled her closer, and Amy felt sick.

The hand that held her in place was cold and so was the breath by her ear. Okay, now _that_ was creepy. She shivered, wondering if it was Nyrytzl's body temperature or her fear that prompted it.

"Watch where you're putting your hands, mister," she said when he shifted to get a better grip on her, proud her voice didn't break. "I'm _married_."

"Release Mrs. Pond," Ixkyr said, but it was phrased more as a plea than an order. "Even if you took the relic, it wouldn't do you any good now. The base already knows what you've done."

 _Think_ , Amy. What part of the Ice Warriors wasn't protected by their armor? Better question, which parts of them weren't made of armor? Even their hands were protected, and at this angle she doubted she could hit his arm with a strong enough impact to do any good. She knew it was safer just to stop struggling in hostage situations, but she couldn't stand there and do nothing!

"But I no longer require this base or this planet, once I have the relic," Nyrytzl said, his cold breath ghosting over her ear again. "I have a ship waiting to take me wherever I wish, and this planet will have to pay tribute to _me_ if they want to survive the overcrowding!"

His breath. His _chin_. If she could just surprise him... Oh, this was gonna hurt. She looked up at Ixkyr, nodding her head just slightly to him in warning.

"If you surrender honorably, I will see what can be done to help your sentence," Ixkyr said with a hint of uneasiness in his voice. He shook his head at her, hand tightening around the weapon that was still aimed at the floor.

Nyrytzl scoffed, his grip on her becoming painful. She felt a ripple of excitement go through her as she took a deep breath, preparing to go through with her plan anyway. "Honor is an antiquated notion that has no-"

With a small jump, Amy pushed her head as hard as she could into Nyrytzl's chin. She heard him cry out as he stumbled backwards, letting go of her. Amy's hands went to her head, momentarily blinded by the pain from her action. Ice Warriors had sharp chins!

Blinking as she was being pulled forward, it took her a moment to realize it was Ixkyr, not Nyrytzl that had taken her arm. She stopped struggling as he pulled her behind him. 

A heavy weight fell back against her as she tried to get her bearings. Ixkyr? He was so heavy that she stumbled to the floor with him on top of her, multiple gun shots ringing through her ears as her eyes adjusted from the pain. 

It was over as quickly as it started. Why hadn't Ixkyr gotten off her yet? If the gun fight had stopped, it had to be safe, right? "Hey, I'm married, remember," she said, still half-dazed. She tried to push him off, but the armor weighed more than Amy could lift. "Ixkyr? Hey, Ixkyr!"

Amy managed to sit up with a bit of effort, her head pounding. Nyrytzl lay on the ground a short ways off, unmoving. Just like Ixkyr was on top of her.

Panic crept through her as she shook his shoulders. How could she even tell if his eyes were closed with that helmet on! "Ixkyr, come on. Wake up. That armor weighs a ton," she said, slapping away the hand of another Ice Warrior that was trying to help her. She wasn't the one who needed help, damn it! "Ixkyr, wake up! This isn't funny! Ixkyr!"

"He iss gone, fiery one," the Ice Warrior hissed, with a surprising amount of gentleness conveyed in that sibilant voice. "The Ssub-Commander iss dead."

She stared at him numbly, clutching at Ixkyr's armor and not looking at the giant hole from an energy weapon that had fired point blank at his chest. Ixkyr was dead. But he couldn't be. He was supposed to take over the base and worry about honor, not lie here on the floor like this. That's what all that armor was supposed to protect him from, right? 

But Ixkyr was dead, all because he had protected her.

~TBC~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memory: Have the quote of the chapter. And yes, it is half the reason for this fic's existence. XD
> 
> "Not far now, Brigadier, unless the Ice Warriors get there first!"  
> -Fifth Doctor, _Castrovalva_


	4. Chapter 4

"You weren't at the ceremony."

Amy looked up from her glass of wine to see the Brigadier and the Doctor walk in with worried expressions. She shook her head, more to herself than to them. They'd been trying to cheer her up since Ixkyr's death. "Doesn't matter. I never usually stay for ceremonies anyway," she said, taking a drink from her glass. The dry wine pricked her throat with a pleasant kick. The TARDIS really didn't skimp on its wine cellars. 

They traded glances over her head, but Amy was having none of that. "So you've explained how the seed thing worked, then?" she asked before they could double-team her. She'd had enough of the Brigadier's awkward kind words and the Doctor's sympathy. She stood up, walking out to the console room and forcing them to follow her.

"Yes, they understand how to use it well enough now," the Doctor said, watching her carefully. "I helped them pick out a nearby planet that should be suitable to their needs, and the Brigadier helped with the security arrangements when Latryxiss took over. Amy, you-"

She spun around at the console, her hair flying around her as she started pressing buttons. She had a vague notion of which ones to press to get the TARDIS in motion. "If we're done here?"

"Where would you like to go?" the Doctor asked, his eyes gentle. "Centauri Prime is nice this time of year, and I've heard the Starlaces-"

"Doctor," the Brigadier cut in warningly. "I do have work to get back to."

"I'm sure the others can handle your absence for a little while, Brigadier. This is a time machine, you know."

"I don't think-"

"I want to go home," Amy said, interrupting their bickering.

"I quite agree," the Brigadier said wryly.

"No, I want to go _home_. Not to UNIT, not to Centauri whatever. Home. Leadworth," she said. When neither the Doctor nor the Brigadier moved, Amy turned to the TARDIS. "TARDIS, activate Emergency Program One, for Amelia Pond."

"It's set to take you back to UNIT, Amy. That won't-"

A small holographic figure of the Doctor appeared on the console. _Her_ Doctor, with his tweed and his stupid bow tie and his arms at his sides as he regarded them impassively, remarkably still for that regeneration. 

"Who the devil is that?" the Brigadier asked.

"I believe, Brigadier, that you're looking at one of my future regenerations," the Doctor said, absently scratching his cheek. "That shouldn't be possible. It hasn't even been recorded yet. Even the TARDIS can't look into her databanks from the future, surely?"

Amy didn't care how it worked. She looked down at the Doctor, wishing nothing more than to have him and Rory here with her as well. "Doctor, take me back," she said to the hologram. "That's what this program was there for, wasn't it? Take me home."

"Amy. Amelia Pond. Little Amelia," her Doctor said, rolling her name around in his mouth. "If you're seeing this, it means that I'm in a fatal situation and I'm either dead, or about to die. So I'm sending you home. No, don't get angry with me-"

"Doctor, I'm sure if that were really happening, I'd be furious, but right now I need you to hurry it up," Amy told the hologram, talking over it. The Doctor and the Brigadier were talking softly off to the side, but she ignored them.

"-sorry," the Doctor continued as if anyone were actually paying attention. Amy rolled her eyes. She didn't want the Doctor's apologies. "I am. That's why I need you to pay attention, Pond. There's something you've forgotten, something important, and it's my fault. But you can remember it again, if you try. There's a ring box on the console, and it belongs to you." Amy froze, almost hyper-aware of the ring on her left hand. But that wasn't the ring the Doctor meant. He was talking about her engagement ring. When Rory had been...

"That ring is important. I want you to keep it for me," the Doctor continued. "Keep it, and remember, Amy. Oh, Amelia Pond, remember what's important to you. Forget about the mad old man in the blue box. Just let the TARDIS die out somewhere out of the way. The old girl deserves a rest, after all these years. Brilliant little Amelia, the girl who waited. You never know when to give up. But you shouldn't wait for me this time Forget about-"

"TARDIS, cut the message and just take me home," Amy ordered. She didn't want to hear any more of that message. The hologram of the Doctor paused, and she leaned down until she was eye level with it. "And there is no way I'm forgetting you, raggedy man, so don't bother. I remembered _both_ of my boys, and don't think I'm letting you get away with making this message. So come and find me already, and bring my husband with you."

There was a brief moment of silence as the hologram paused. She thought it really had stopped for good, except then the Doctor shook his head sadly. "Not this time, Amy," he said, shocking her to the core. He was responding to... no, he was responding to what he knew she would say in a real situation like this, the jerk. "But you'll be amazing, no matter what happens. You don't need your raggedy Doctor any more. I don't think you ever have."

"I do, you idiot," she said softly, blinking back tears. "And if you don't shut it, I _will_ burn all of your uncool bow ties."

The Doctor looked faintly disapproving as he stared at her through time. "Bow ties are and always will be cool," he said, the frown turning into a small grin as Amy muttered a few curses. _Of course_ , the Doctor would see that threat coming. 

The hologram flickered out of existence as the time rotor came to a stop. Good. She didn't want to think about how lonely it must have been for the Doctor, being the only one to remember Rory, or how guilty he looked, or the fact that he wanted her to forget everything they had been through to live a normal life while he died somewhere, lost and forgotten. She did a quick glance at the scanners, hit the door lever, and rushed out of the TARDIS. She ignored the calls of her name and took off into Leadworth.

* * *

"There you are," the Doctor said, sitting beside her on the bench across from the duck pond that only had ducks for half of her memories. She watched Justin and Elise feed the ducks with their two-year-old son, remembering when they graduated a year ahead of her and how empty the high school drama department had felt after they left. Mels had chided her, saying she should just fill it back up herself. And now Else was married, enjoying her life with her son and husband, feeding ducks only Amy remembered not being there.

Would she ever get that with Rory? Did she even _want_ that with Rory? The Dream Lord had shown her how much she wasn't cut out for that domestic sort of lifestyle, but some of it had been nice. Having her husband with her had been all she wanted, even if she didn't realize it at the time.

The Doctor sat silently, watching the family with her. Not her Doctor, but a younger and just as complicated, frightening, and wonderful... with all the same horrors of traveling with him. She didn't know what to say to him, this different version of her best friend who was a mix of younger and older. She wondered if this was how River felt, knowing how much the Doctor had changed her life, but not being able to talk to him about it. And she wanted to talk to him about it desperately, to ask him questions and get advice or even just _talk_ and yell at him. 

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said finally, breaking the silence. "I don't appear to be the person you're waiting for."

"It's not your fault," she said automatically, even though it was. It just wasn't the Doctor's fault _yet_. She couldn't get properly angry at him like she wanted to, because he hadn't done any of it yet. She pushed those uncharitable thoughts aside and searched for something she could talk about. 

"Mels is gone. I thought I could talk to her, but she's gone off on this trip without telling anyone where she is. I shouldn't be surprised." Mels always did try to follow Amy's footsteps, except she always got into genuine trouble when she did these disappearing acts. How much would it be to bail her out this time? Amy worried her lip for a moment, wishing at least one thing in her life would go right. "My parents... I've known them either all my life, or only for a single day. It would feel weird going to them, and they'd want to know where Rory is..."

She certainly hadn't told them about her adventures with the Doctor. Hadn't even had time before rushing into the TARDIS after the reception. Even if she had, it wouldn't be anything like how she could talk to Mels. 

They fell into silence again. Amy stared at the ducks that had failed to be there for half her life, and she wondered if she should get the bottle of wine she had bought for going to visit Mels. She could drink it by herself well enough, or maybe with this Doctor. Another reminder of what she was missing, since this Doctor would actually drink with her. 

"It was my fault, wasn't it?" she asked suddenly, not taking her eyes off the ducks. "I should have let Nyrytzl take me hostage. That's what they say in those defense classes the Brigadier makes me take, that it's more dangerous to try and break away like that. Because the hostage taker is more willing to shoot. But I didn't listen, and now Ixkyr is dead." Amy took a breath, letting the words fall from her lips calmly, despite the storm of emotions she felt. 

"It wasn't your fault, Amy," the Doctor said gently. 

"I think it was," she replied, continuing to stare straight ahead.

She heard the Doctor sigh softly. "Sub-Commander Ixkyr made his choice to die with honor, to protect someone. That someone happened to be you."

"I don't care about honor!" she yelled, letting some of her anger show through for a brief moment. She sucked in a breath, exhaled slowly. "He's dead. He died for me, because of me, and I don't know how to feel about that."

She should be grateful to him, but all she could feel was anger. Now Ixkyr wouldn't be able to figure out for himself if his actions were honorable or not. He wouldn't be able to see that he had saved his world by helping them, that he had saved her. He wouldn't ever be able to smile again, like he should have. And wasn't that awful, that she was angry at someone for saving her life?

She felt the Doctor's arm slip around her and pull her close, and she closed her eyes, blocking out those bloody ducks that constantly reminded her of everything that should be here, but wasn't. "I can't tell you how to feel, Amy," he said as he hugged her tightly, "but I can say that honor was important to Sub-Commander Ixkyr, and you would do his memory the most good by honoring his sacrifice. I think he would like that."

She stayed there, eyes closed and leaning up against the Doctor, breathing in the smell of motor oil, lavender, and that odd hint of the time vortex that she could never quite place. Even though he wasn't her Doctor, he still gave really good hugs. 

After a while, the Doctor sighed again. "Would you like to stay here?"

Did she? Amy shook her head. "It doesn't feel like home anymore. Not without Rory. There's too many things that are missing."

She felt the Doctor relax, and she opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her. She was going to miss this Doctor, she realized with a start. He wasn't her Doctor, but she was really going to miss this one too, once her Doctor and Rory found her. And he would miss her when she left too.

"Come on, then," he said. "Let's find the Brigadier before he stumbles onto something of his own future."

"He's been looking for me too?" Amy asked, touched. She really wouldn't just miss the Doctor, would she? UNIT had been her family for the past five months. The mental image of the Brigadier wandering about in her time was amusing. Was he still alive in this time, somewhere, still fighting aliens? Amy resolved to find out when she came back. If he was still alive, he'd be in his 80s, and Amy wanted to visit him, Benton, and Yates. It would be nice to finally introduce them all to Rory and her Doctor. 

"He has something for you as well," the Doctor said as he helped her up. "Something with the relic that they found in Nyrytzl's rooms."

Her curiosity piqued, she pushed aside her concerns for later, when she was alone in the TARDIS and she could think by herself. She still couldn't quite manage a smile, but she would be fine. She had to wait for Rory to get his butt in gear and find her, after all. And until then, she had this Doctor to look after.

They found the Brigadier being hassled by Mrs. Fairfax. "And you leave Amy alone!" she told a very put-upon Brigadier.

"Mrs. Fairfax, it's okay," she said, jogging up to them.

"Oh, Amy." The old lady smiled at her in a way that made her feel like she was five, her animosity towards the Brigadier all but forgotten. "You're not in trouble, are you? You're married now, remember, and you shouldn't go off with that young Melody and get into trouble. You've got to be respectable now."

"As I was saying, Madam, Mrs. Pond is helping UNIT with an important investigation," the Brigadier said. He looked more than a little relieved to see Amy and the Doctor, and she felt a bit guilty for her dramatic exit earlier. 

"That's nice, dear," Mrs. Fairfax said, patting her arm fondly. "Are you working with the police again? It sure sounds awfully important. How is Rory doing?"

"He's fine," she said more curtly than she meant to. Though she was a little relieved that Mrs. Fairfax didn't think to correct the Brigadier on her name. She wasn't quite sure how to explain to everyone that she hadn't mentioned her married name for the past five months. Bless little old ladies and their memories.

"I'm terribly sorry, Madam," the Doctor said, saving her from more awkward questions. "But we do have a lot of work to do. If you'll excuse us?"

Mrs. Fairfax took one look at the Doctor, her eyes widening. "Oh, of course, Mr. Detective. You are a Detective, aren't you? Just like in the old days. Why can't young people these days be as polite and well dressed?"

Amy fought back a laugh as the Doctor preened just a little as Mrs. Fairfax walked away. "Careful of that one, Doctor," she said as they walked back towards the TARDIS. "She's still married. And I'll tell the Master that you're cheating."

"Mrs. Pond," the Doctor said, puffing himself up. "In order for it to be 'cheating,' as you termed it, one would have to be in a relationship in the first place. Which we are not."

"Oh, right," Amy said. "You and the 'unimaginative plodder' are still in the UST phase."

"Still in the what?" The Doctor asked, honestly puzzled.

"Never mind," she said, walking through the door as the Doctor held it open for her. She still had her boys, even if she didn't have Rory, and really, she needed to cherish what time she had with them. She turned back to the Brigadier then, remembering. "The Doctor said you had something for me?"

"Ah, yes," the Brigadier said, taking an envelope out of his pocket. "This was found in Nyrytzl's quarters along with the broken relic. I'm afraid it's already been opened, but it doesn't appear to be missing any of the contents."

"Nyrytzl probably couldn't read it," the Doctor added. "He might have kept it just in case it turned out to be a manual of sorts."

She gingerly took the white envelope, turning it over in her hands. Familiar handwriting greeted her. " _To Amelia Pond_ ," it said simply, and even if she hadn't recognized the writing, only one person still called her that. 

She pulled out the letter, ignoring the two bits of loose-leaf paper for now as she opened it. 

" _Amelia Pond. The TARDIS has had a few hiccups, but don't worry. We're coming back for you as soon as we can. Have some pictures to keep you till we get there._ "

It wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. Before looking at the pictures still in the envelope, though, she looked at the other sheet of paper. On it was an even more familiar hand writing, one that made her eyes feel surprisingly wet.

" _Dear Amy,_

_I'm not sure how this works, but the Doctor promised you'd get this letter if I write it, so here goes. It's been a bit of a rough week, with the TARDIS throwing us into the middle of an ice planet. We'd have gone back immediately, but there was some sort of smoke coming out of the console that the Doctor said was toxic, then we got mixed up with these Ice Warrior women. There was a beautiful painting in the inner sanctum that I wish I could show you. The Doctor says we can come back later, once we find you again. I can't even begin to describe it. I just wish you were here to see it with me._

_Anyway, I just wanted to say that we're going to find you, Amy, I promise. I won't stop looking for you, no matter how long it takes, and the Doctor says he has a pretty good idea of where you got dropped off._

_I love you._

_Sincerely,  
Rory Williams_

_PS.  
Don't believe anything the Doctor says. He's just exaggerating._ "

Amy felt the tears prick at her eyes, and she rapidly blinked to keep them at bay. _I love you too, so hurry up so I can see your stupid face again,_ she thought to herself, half smiling at how ridiculously formal the letter was. She'd tease him for that, next time she saw him.

"Amy?" the Doctor asked.

Shaking her head, Amy shifted through the papers left in the envelope to find the pictures. They were upside down, and written on the back was the Doctor's handwriting. " _PS. I never exaggerate_ ," she read aloud, flipping the picture over.

This time, she really did start crying.

"Would you care to explain what is so amusing?" the Brigadier asked dryly.

Amy kept laughing, unable to stop as she wiped her eyes and tried to explain. "That ice planet. The Doctor had been there in the future, yeah? With a female companion who got caught? Because no one was allowed in there, but she wasn't executed because she was female?"

"Amy, I'm not sure I should be hearing about-" the Doctor started. She pushed the picture over to him, unable to explain anymore around her laughter. He stared at it for a moment before breaking into a low chuckle. "He does look quite fetching in that frock, doesn't he? High heels as well, I see. Quite fashionable."

The Brigadier took one look at the picture and raised an eyebrow, which only sent Amy into further hysterics. "If we are quite done here, Doctor, I should be getting back to my duties at UNIT," the Brigadier said, electing not to comment on Amy's cross-dressing husband for politeness' sake.

"Amy?" the Doctor asked again. "Are you ready to go?"

Wiping away the fresh tears, Amy smiled. "I'm good," she said, and surprisingly she was. Rory wouldn't ever stop looking for her, and she had her boys here in the meantime to cheer her up. "Let's go home." And this time, she did mean back to UNIT.

"Then let's take off, shall we?" the Doctor said, his hands already flying over the controls.

When a giant shock sent Amy and the Brigadier flying across the console room, Amy figured they'd be taking the long route home. She didn't mind though. Perhaps Rory would be waiting for her when she got back, or maybe she'd have to wait a bit longer for him and this would fill the time. Whatever happened though, Amy was going to make the most of her time now. 

And if all else failed, she had some great blackmail material for when she did see Rory again.

~FIN~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Memory: Well, there's the ending. I'm currently working on the next Amy-verse, but it'll probably be a while. Hopefully it'll do better than this one, especially since the Brigadier is still along for the ride. Yeah, I really just want more Brig traveling with the Doctor. ^_^;;; 
> 
> Anyway, the final quote of the chapter is for Ixkyr.
> 
> "Honour and shame from no condition rise;  
> Act well your part, there all the honour lies."  
> \- Alexander Pope, "An Essay on Man"

**Author's Note:**

> Mem: So there you have it, Awkward Cliffhanger #1. Hope you've enjoyed it so far!
> 
> Quote of the chapter: (For Benton and the Doctor's love of explode-y things)
> 
> "No boom today, boom tomorrow. There is always a boom tomorrow. What? Look, somebody's got to have some damn perspective around here. Boom. Sooner or later, BOOM!"  
> \--Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5


End file.
